<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Of Dragons and Fairies by PencilofAwesomeness</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26203717">Of Dragons and Fairies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilofAwesomeness/pseuds/PencilofAwesomeness'>PencilofAwesomeness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How to Raise Your Dragon Slayers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoptive Siblings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Love, E.N.D.!Natsu, END Natsu, Emotional Constipation, Explicit Language, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Family, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Found Family, Gen, HTRYDS verse, Hurt/Comfort, I add tags like after thoughts, Mentions of Slavery, Minor Character Death, Papalogia AU, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Acnologia, Sibling Love, Team as Family, Zeref is emotionally constipated, dragon slayers as siblings, everyone remembers, he's a dragon so he hoards kids, it's gajeel's and acno's fault, rated for the explicit language and some themes, this has a plot I swear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:42:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>56,133</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26203717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilofAwesomeness/pseuds/PencilofAwesomeness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a startling discovery drains the dreaded Black Dragon of the Apocalypse of his anger, Acnologia is left wandering through the centuries without clear purpose. Somehow, it is a path that leads to five young dragon slayers coming into his care and to the joining of a guild of human mages—who are also mostly children. No, he has no idea what he is doing, but if it is what it takes to atone for his sins, then he is willing to try.</p><p> </p><p>The 'Papalogia AU' that no one asked for.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Acnologia &amp; Dragon Slayers, Acnologia &amp; Porlyusica, Acnologia &amp; Zeref Dragneel, Rogue Cheney &amp; Natsu Dragneel &amp; Sting Eucliffe &amp; Wendy Marvell &amp; Gajeel Redfox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>How to Raise Your Dragon Slayers [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902976</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>393</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fairy tail good work</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: King of the Dragons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The concept of the Papalogia AU is not mine. I can't say exactly where it started, but I saw some of the comics made by <a href="https://acnologias-ass.tumblr.com/post/183752313328/since-i-keep-receiving-the-same-asks-about-the">acnologias-ass</a> on tumblr and fell in love. After searching for the AU and finding "Dream of Dragons" by therealnarnia here on AO3, I was inspired to make my own. While fluff is certainly involved, I also plan on there being an overarching plot to this baby, in addition to going through canon. </p><p>This first installment will all take place before X784, so there won't be any super-canon material here, but in the future I will write the other arcs. And add some of my own. With all the changes that will be made, I hope everything turns pleasantly different and remain very entertaining. </p><p>Anywho, enough of that. Time for what I presume you came here for: watching Acnologia struggle. Well, kick back and enjoy the ride. I (hopefully) will be here every Sunday evening or Monday morning.</p><p>Rated T for language (these boys be cussing enough) and some alluded to themes. Mostly the language. Acno is a bad influence, but Metallicana was just as bad if not worse.</p><p>Enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“The gull’s savagery and suspicion had been due partly to pain and partly to the unnerving knowledge that it had no companions and could not fly.” </em>
</p><p>– Richard Adams, <em>Watership Down</em> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>X588</p><p> </p><p>A black dragon flew over the lands of Alakitasia. The beast would have blended in with the night sky were it not for the daytime-blue swirls on its scales, nor the rage the creature emanated.</p><p>However, Alakitasia had already been ravished by the beast. Once a land filled with dragons, it was made a graveyard by the one that proclaimed himself the Dragon King. Whether they had been killed at the Dragon King Festival in Ishgar, or slain in their homeland later, was insignificant. It only mattered to the black dragon that they were dead.</p><p>He did not know why he kept coming to the land, however. He loathed it with every inch of his body—every scale, every vein—even though the beings that he despised were long-since eradicated. Yet, he kept returning.</p><p>The black dragon landed by the ruins anyway. The most dragons had been found here, and the most slaughtered. The last he killed was decades ago, but instinct brought the beast to his hunting grounds regardless. It was an ironic place to rest, but even the so-called Dragon King could not fly forever, and the ocean was vast and empty.</p><p>He had no home and no name, but even beasts had preferences. He preferred <em>not </em>to be here, regardless of his primal urges. Was he looking for something? No, only destruction, and it was already here.</p><p>Such a sad existence.</p><p>The dragon huffed, the first almost-verbalized thought he gave himself in years. He should really head back to the land of Ishgar in the morning. Perhaps to that mountain range to properly rest, after he had ensured that the many dragons of that continent were dead too. There were more places to hide there, so it was hard to tell.</p><p>Scanning the ruins with blank eyes, he settled on a nearby plateau to lay for the night. It looked like it had been bigger, but the front end had been destroyed in some collapse. It was big enough, however.</p><p>He landed, circling a few times to try and get his limbs to cooperate with the position he wished to be in. Even after centuries, muscle memory still betrayed him from time to time. Had he ever slept differently? It was hard to recall.</p><p>However, his elbow passed over a rough patch of stone as he finally settled. Annoyed, the dragon bent his neck to spot the source of his discomfort, hoping to remove it instead of moving again. Unfortunately, it was scratches in the stone itself, not mere rocks.</p><p>No. That wasn’t it…</p><p>It was <em>writing</em>.</p><p>The black dragon had never been interested in histories or accounts, but for some reason, he knew ancient draconic, the language of his bane. Perhaps it was the magic that transformed him into one—or had he known it before? He was going to ignore it—or perhaps scratch it out—before he spotted a name that was painfully familiar.</p><p>The writing wasn’t entirely cohesive, written in some hurry. It was an odd place for a dragon to give an account anyway. He readjusted himself, tentatively reading the wretched thing.</p><p><strong><em>I do not have much time</em></strong><strong>,</strong> the writing began, rather foolishly. <strong><em>They have locked my mouth, so I must write in vain hope, that no dragon befalls my same fate. Take heed and turn back from this land at once.</em></strong></p><p>Was this about him? Dragons never showed fear, so it would have to have been a strong entity to cause such a reaction, and he was the beast that destroyed this land. However, he does not remember leaving any alive long enough to attempt such a silly ploy. How strange.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>The humans of this city have discovered forbidden magic. It robs my brethren of their freedom and their thoughts. Of our sentience. The dragons here are beasts because there is nothing left of them. They obey the whim of their cruel masters. </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>My mind has already begun to erode. I fear revealing the secrets that I know to them, but I have been unable to strike myself against their will.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>A dragon committing suicide? It was unprecedented. The black dragon grew uneasy. This was not a foe that bested this dragon in strength—it mocked it. It was humiliating even to him.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Lest they raise their armies against my home, the Hidden Land that I swore to protect, I will continue to fight the magic. Should I, Acnologia, even be seen alive henceforth, know that I have failed.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>He stared at the last line—no, the name. <em>Acnologia</em>.</p><p>He couldn’t forget it if he tried. That wretched creature, that <em>traitor</em>— The name burned into his skull.</p><p>Acnologia. <em>AcnologiaAcnologiaAcnologia <strong>A</strong></em><strong><em>̷̛</em></strong><strong><em>́</em></strong><strong><em>̨̛̬̗̊̈́̐̕͜</em></strong><strong><em>c</em></strong><strong><em>̴</em></strong><strong><em>́</em></strong><strong><em>̝̕</em></strong><strong><em>n</em></strong><strong><em>̶</em></strong><strong><em>́</em></strong><strong><em>͐</em></strong><strong><em>̉</em></strong><strong><em>̞͓̠̊̅̌</em></strong><strong><em>o</em></strong><strong><em>̶̡͇̗̰̹̻̗̝̺̗̩̦͖̒͠</em></strong><strong><em>l</em></strong><strong><em≯̛̠̿̾̈̋̋͗͂̕͠͝͝</em></strong><strong><em>o</em></strong><strong><em>̴̋̊</em></strong><strong><em>̉</em></strong><strong><em>̧̨̦̦͉͍͍̠̫̤̼̰̽͒̎̎̍͑͂̕͠</em></strong><strong><em>g</em></strong><strong><em>̶̧̞̳̰̱̙̥̈͘͜</em></strong><strong><em>i</em></strong><strong><em>̷̛̈́̇̒͆̾</em></strong><strong><em>̀̀</em></strong><strong><em>̼̳̺̄̽̐̈́̅̄͐</em></strong><strong><em>a</em></strong><strong><em>̵͗͌͑̓̍͠</em></strong><strong><em>̃</em></strong><strong><em>̡̮̪̪̐̏͗</em></strong></p><p>His skull ached. He couldn’t breathe. Rage was filling him—burning him—but at the same time, he stared at the line, which numbed him to his core.</p><p>…<strong><em>ever be seen alive henceforth…</em></strong></p><p>Acnologia left.</p><p>He came back—<em>different. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Wh-why are you doing this?!” the doctor screamed, face covered in dust and tears. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The dragon glared at him with empty eyes. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The city continued to burn.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The lines grew before until it was all he could see.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>…My mind has already begun to erode…</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>“Doctor?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked up at the great white dragon from his seat on the cliffside. “Is something the matter?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Acnologia chuckled. “No. I just wanted to express my gratitude.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The doctor blinked, confused. The dragon returned his gaze with kind, ancient eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Despite our differences, we can share our minds, and our hearts. No matter what you are, I have always appreciated your company, Doctor.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>There had been nothing behind his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Should I, Acnologia, even be seen alive henceforth, know that I have failed.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p><p>He dug his fingers into his scalp in a desperate attempt to ground himself. His chest heaved.</p><p> </p><p>The dragons of his homeland were wise and learned. He has killed screaming beasts. He has killed pleading allies.</p><p>He was a fool.</p><p>His nails were breaking his skin. His eyes burned.</p><p>He was a <em>damn fool. </em></p><p>The beast curled over the message, and, for the first time in nearly a century, cried, for he had only been but a hurting man all along.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>X772</p><p> </p><p>A man walked through the forest, alone.</p><p>It was a rare occasion, although it was driven by a mere errand. The Julican Forest was a peaceful place, void of any bad memory or haunting bloodshed—at least, none he had been a part of. His past weighed on his shoulders, turned to sorrow with the fading of his madness. It was a sin he would bear responsibility for, given the chance; however, with the dragons extinct, there wasn’t an opportunity for repentance. The best he could give those he slain wrongfully was vengeance.</p><p>That was another slow, long road, however. So, the man did his best to busy himself lest he fall into madness again. A medicinal and herb collection was a pointless but comforting hobby. It took him back to his roots. Not that he was a doctor anymore, or that he could ever claim to be, after what he had done.</p><p>The ex-doctor had forgotten whatever else remained of his identity after he became the so-called Dragon King. Perhaps, he hadn’t had much of one anyway. The only name of importance that he could latch onto was the name of Acnologia, his old friend that he had failed, lost to dragon tamer magic that he discovered centuries too late. Perhaps it was in reverence to him, or perhaps it was a childish attempt at redemption, but the man took the dragon’s name, nonetheless.</p><p>Acnologia, after his bitter realization nearly two hundred years ago, had turned his endless rage to the magic that caused the war. Unfortunately, most of the evidence was destroyed—whether by himself in his rampage or by other forces. The best he could find were whispers of the terrible art: dragon tamer magic.</p><p>There were many types of tamer magic in existence now, but no word of dragon tamer magic. The nature of it was consistent, however: the caster could control the body and even the mind—in a blank state—of whatever target of species. Truly, only something humans could envision. Although, human tamer magic was not an impossibility either; it was just more aptly known as slaver magic.</p><p>In his musings, Acnologia wandered deeper into the Julican Forest—or whatever the hell they called it in this century. He already got the fertilizer he came here for, but he lingered out of boredom. He also had little desire to walk home to his cave, and with a full moon and a clear sky, flying wasn’t as an inconspicuous an option as he would have liked. Well, this far away from the town, the forest was still a peaceful option. No unnecessary noise, no interruptions, no annoying humans.</p><p>Not that <em>all </em>humans were bad. Acnologia was stable enough nowadays to recognize that he was a human—or at least once was. But he was also a dragon, and to a dragon’s senses, humans were loud and obnoxious sometimes. Besides, living for four hundred years has given him an appreciation for how longer-lived species put up with fast-paced humanity. Sometimes, they were smart; other times, they were like yipping puppies who couldn’t <em>shut up</em> and <em>think</em>.</p><p>It was a nice, quiet night, however, so he was going to enjoy the forest for the time being before he returned to the mountains. There wasn’t room for him to lay properly, but he had gotten much better at sensing things through his human form—like touch and taste—as well as his true form.</p><p>He was very glad that he did. It was a rough transition that he largely ignored the first two hundred years, but it was worth it. Especially on nights like these, where the air was cool, and the crickets were peaceable. And the smell of dew and oak was a nice change to the usual—wait, what the hell was <em>that</em>?!</p><p>Abruptly alert, Acnologia focused on the scent that accosted him. It wasn’t <em>natural. </em>It was sharp and tumultuous, and to his great chagrin, definitely magic. Sure, there was a mage guild in the town nearby, but this didn’t seem to be the usual variety. It was old and simultaneously unfamiliar, and now that he noticed it, the very air seemed to be tinged with its shiver.</p><p>Normally, Acnologia would leave it alone. The affairs of the mage guilds were not his own, and from he <em>did </em>know of them—and that damned magic council—he really didn’t want to be bothered with it. There were a few cases he intervened or at least watched the matters at hand, because he was alive in this world too and there were things he didn’t want to deal with it, but for the most part, he remained neutral. Let him scare the people from time to time with the ol’ “Black Dragon of the Apocalypse” nonsense, he didn’t care. They didn’t mess with him that way.</p><p>However, the more he focused on the magic, the more he had the undeniable realization that it was <em>dragon </em>magic. Not that a dragon was here, otherwise, he would have smelled them as a creature. (And no dragon, if there were any left, would be stupid enough to share a forest with him.) Nonetheless, it was primal element magic that he sensed, and only dragons and dragon slayers could wield that.</p><p>So he picked himself up and followed the scent. There was a large possibility that this would be a problem for him, and he would rather deal with it now—especially if it was going to be a world-scourge or something. At the very least, he was morbidly curious as to what could <em>possibly </em>exude such magic. </p><p>He should have turned around when it was some creepy black spire building. If anyone should have aesthetic, it should be humans, and they still sucked at it. Was this some shitty dark guild matter? Actually, Acnologia hoped it was, because then no one would miss them when they were gone. Because he was tempted to kill them for their design sense alone.</p><p>The wards on the building were impressive, but he ate them without trouble, passing through the threshold as if welcome. The thrumming in the air grew louder. Thicker.</p><p>Acnologia was undeterred. The runes on his arms were in place, suppressing his magic signature, which he was glad of now that he was in a somewhat stealth situation. (Which is to say, in case he decided to leave and not bother with the mess.) Normally, he never bothered with such precautions, but his errand brought him dangerously close to the mage guild and he was not in the mood to attract attention, and mages who knew what they were doing tended to get squirmy whenever he was nearby.</p><p>He had a sinking suspicion he knew what this was. It had been happening for some years now—the creation of dragon lacrimas. It was a dangerous art to make them, and even more dangerous to actually <em>use </em>them. Acnologia was against the concept for multiple reasons. One, it killed humans, which he supposed was a bad thing, but more importantly, it was screwing with dragon magic. And as strange as a method to make a slayer, he didn’t want anyone else to go through the madness he did. Besides, they were also pulling these lacrimas from dragons <em>he </em>killed, which irked him for reasons he didn’t bother to figure out. Maybe because he didn’t want to be involved in this nonsense. (He had enough for feel guilty for.)</p><p>He has destroyed many of the dragon lacrimas already, although he had no way of knowing how many were in existence. They seemed most problematic, however, when placed in humans, and then they became much harder to track. He would have been more concerned were it not for the high fatality rate the process incurred. Well, anyone idiotic enough to become a dragon slayer in an age without dragons probably deserved to die anyways.</p><p>If his theory about the strange magic was true, then it was just another lacrima to destroy. Acnologia ambled to the source, and sure enough he was right about the cause.</p><p>He never guessed the rest of the circumstance.</p><p>It was a child. A damn <em>child</em>, with the lacrima rapidly absorbing into his tiny, skinny body, and a man he immediately did not like standing over him. The child was conscious, but only barely, and he wasn’t sure if it took a dragon to hear his erratic heartbeat.</p><p>The man practically trampled the child when he was startled by Acnologia’s presence. “Who the hell are you?! How did you get in here?!” he growled.</p><p>Acnologia merely glowered at him. “Where did you get that lacrima?” They weren’t legal. He has yet to see anyone with good intentions around those damn things. And because the humans <em>knew </em>that, they were surprisingly inconspicuous about their operations. Pulling locations to blow up from people was far easier than sniffing them out.</p><p>“That’s none of your business.” The man smirked. “Now pay for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!” Obviously a mage, the man sent a spiral of magic-infused shikigami at him, most likely with the intention of sucking his life-force dry. It would have been annoying to eat such disgusting magic, so Acnologia merely deflected it with the back of his hand, knocking the ethernano out of the paper. While not the same intimidation technique as eating one’s magic in front of them, he was pleased to see the man begin to tremble.</p><p>“Who…who are you?!”</p><p>He slammed the man against the nearest wall, having closed the distance between them in a second. The man’s sternum cracked against his hand. Whoops. Wait, he didn’t care. “None of your business,” Acnologia replied, somewhat cheekily.</p><p>His frown returned immediately as the child continued to wheeze. He was starting to convulse, too. Damn, he was so small—not even adults could survive. “Where. Did. You. Get. The. Lacrima?” He pushed harder, feeling his entire rib cage begin to give.</p><p>The stupid mage tried to cast a spell instead of answer. This time, Acnologia inhaled all of the ether out of his disgusting magic to save the time. Finally, the man began to reek of fear.</p><p>“Th-th-the Bosco trade!” the man hissed. He offered a bloody, insincere smile. “I just did it to save my son’s life.”</p><p>“Bullshit.” He should really just kill the man right now. Acnologia got the information he wanted, and this guy was pissing him off big time. “You know you’ve doomed him.”</p><p>The smile turned even more rotten. “He’s <em>my </em>son.” The implications were clear enough, and Acnologia had enough of him. He pierced his heart with a bolt of magic, and the man dropped to the floor. He didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with some sleezy human.</p><p>The child was the pressing concern now.</p><p>He was seizing, his little body desperately trying to handle the immense power put into him. It might also be to the nature of the lacrima itself—Acnologia could <em>see </em>the sparks of electricity peeling off of him. Mages tended to be immune or at least resistant to their element, but the magic was newly introduced, and the boy’s skin was burning. With a mild sense of horror, he noted that he nearly blew out his right eye.</p><p>There was nothing Acnologia could do regarding the seizing, but he could prevent further injury. He grabbed the boy and effortlessly turned him on his side, and to his relief, the ragged breathing came somewhat steadier. There was a wad of leather in his mouth, most likely given to him by his idiot ‘father,’ and with annoyance, he took it out. Sure, if the kid grew his canines this quickly (which he wouldn’t) it might be warranted, but it would be more troublesome if the kid choked.</p><p>As for the cause, Acnologia paused, considerate. This wasn’t a situation he had handled before, and though he had watched many dragon slayers get imbued, none were by lacrima and all were adults. The magic was enchanted on, and never in such bulk. It was possible that he may be suffering from overload, or he might just be suffering from the element chosen. He was wary of giving the boy magic deficiency syndrome, but he didn’t see much else of an option: he syphoned the excess energy.</p><p>He didn’t want to eat raw-lacrima (condensed ether-nano was hard even on <em>his </em>stomach) so he re-directed it outward, blowing a hole into a nearby wall. The boy went lax. Good. His heartrate wasn’t so erratic anymore, and the seizing calmed to the occasional twitch of electricity.</p><p>Damn, he was still burned pretty badly, however. It had been lifetimes since Acnologia acted as a doctor, or even used healing magic in any serious manner, but it wasn’t something to be forgotten. In fact, with his magic reserves more potent, and his knowledge more refined, it would probably be more effective, even though he didn’t feel worthy to wield it.</p><p>Not that his history would matter to the kid in this moment. Frowning at the long-forgotten sensation of his base healing spell, Acnologia bent over the child and held his hand over his eye. It was no sky-magic—it wouldn’t reverse the wound—but it would remove the pain. (Maybe he should study healing magic again.) Eye wounds hurt like a fiend anyway, so the boy better be grateful.</p><p>He smelled more burns, so he removed the boy’s shirt to investigate. There was a large, spiraling electrical scar on his left pectoral, no doubt from the central congregation of the lacrima before it was dispersed through his body. Acnologia healed that one as well and then searched for more. There were none, which meant that the boy was either lucky, or he was inclined towards lightning magic from the start.</p><p>The boy wouldn’t die—he was mostly sure. He could leave him be, and be on his way, but… Acnologia was reminded of the man he killed, sprawled unpleasantly across the floor. If he was his father, then maybe the kid shouldn’t wake up to that. They were also in the middle of nowhere, and even though he was now imbued with incredible magic, he was just a child. Children weren’t supposed to be alone.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, Acnologia scooped up the boy. He would have loved to exit this sky-forsaken creepy dark guild house, but there wasn’t anywhere else to go. He settled for another room. He found a cot set up upstairs—there was more evidence that this was a budding base of operations of sorts—and laid the boy there. Now, he just needed to figure out what to do with this mess.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Kids slept like a rock—or maybe it was just kids with lacrimas newly inserted into their bodies. Regardless of the reason, it gave Acnologia plenty of time to explore and to think.</p><p>He poked around the base because there wasn’t anything else to do, and he was too restless to sleep himself. It was pathetic. His opinion of the dark-haired human dropped lower, if that was even possible. It was all dark trade offers, shitty enchantments that reeked of paranoia, and plans on stealing some artifact from a guild he was apparently a part of. It was overly conniving and far too sad to even be amusing.</p><p>As to the boy, he was at something of a loss. Acnologia had no delusions that he was a fit enough person to deal with a child. Besides, rifling through the father’s stuff proved that the kid had other family. (Even though his mother was paid off to leave, which was utterly depraved in itself and reaffirmed his justification in killing that bastard.) He could leave him in Magnolia, where it looked like he was from, and let the kid figure out the rest. Problem solved.</p><p>The <em>other </em>problem, however, was the very fact that he was a dragon slayer. He couldn’t imagine going through that without guidance. He had had the other slayers and even the dragons he was supposed to help to give him pointers, despite being distracted by his own motives. Even then, he handled the mental changes…poorly. It was a known fact that acquiring dragon senses and magic included the hormones, which was a difficult transition. He, of course, handled it <em>extremely </em>poorly and let himself be overwhelmed by his rage. The kid deserved a warning at least, and guidance at most. Not that Acnologia thought himself qualified in the slightest.</p><p>Even then, none of that would hold a candle to what his fate held for him. Granted, Acnologia couldn’t be positive that becoming a slayer through lacrima would guarantee him the same fate of becoming a dragon, but the possibility was there. He felt responsible for it, in a way. He <em>did </em>claim himself king of the dragons, all of those years ago, he thought bitterly. Maybe this was Fate’s twisted way of making him own up to it.</p><p>Before he could continue the train of thought, he heard the child begin to stir. Acnologia returned to the room just as he was waking up, groggy and still dazed. His gray eyes could barely focus. “…Dad…?”</p><p>“No,” Acnologia grunted, already annoyed and regretting his decisions. “Sorry to disappoint.”</p><p>This, even in his less-than-present state, began to drive the child to panicked alertness. “Who— Who are you?! Where’s my dad?!”</p><p><em>Dead</em>. By miracle, he had the resolve not to blurt it outright. Later, when he thought the little thing wouldn’t have a complete conniption. “Gone,” he replied, still curtly but nice for his standards. “He’s not important right now. You’re the one who almost died.”</p><p>The child eyed his warily. He could smell his anxiety. “You didn’t answer my first question.”</p><p>“Don’t ask more than one at once, pipsqueak.” Acnologia pinched the bridge of his nose. No, don’t yell at the human child. Be nice. Be <em>nice</em>. He sighed. “I’m…” Shit, he didn’t think this through. His name was still feared in some circles, and he wasn’t keen on giving it out lest expectations come and find him. He needed a better epithet than the ‘Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.’ “…a doctor.” It felt like a lie, but considering the circumstance, this was a viable option. He <em>did </em>give him aid.</p><p>The boy still looked wary, but he softened at the response. Good to know doctors were still respected in this era. “Did my dad bring you here to help with the procedure?”</p><p>He scoffed. “No. Of course not.” So, the kid knew he was going through a procedure, at least. Weird thing to call it though. “Doctor’s aren’t normally called for illegal lacrima insertions.”</p><p>The kid blinked owlishly at him. “I-illegal…lacrima?” He fidgeted in his seat. “Why would a medical lacrima be…illegal?”</p><p>He couldn’t help it this time: Acnologia laughed. Wow, that shit-face really had this naïve boy in the palm of his hand, didn’t he? He managed to quiet his laughter at the disturbed look on the boy, but it was hard, because <em>that </em>was hilarious. “I don’t know what he told you, but it wasn’t a medical lacrima,” he explained. “Wait. What <em>did </em>he tell you?”</p><p>“H-he said that it would help me be stronger, be-because my body was weak…” The smell of shame rolled off the tiny boy in waves. Weak? Acnologia didn’t smell anything particularly wrong with the boy, although, the dragon lacrima was already doing its work.</p><p>Ironic thing was, it wasn’t a lie, in a direct sense. But it was obviously an avoidance of the truth. “Did he tell you that you were more likely to die than not from that insertion?” he rebutted, perhaps too harshly. Kid looked like he was about to piss himself. Shit. Acnologia sighed. “Look, what your old man put in you was an illegal dragon lacrima. It’s a miracle you survived, and that was with no help from <em>him</em>. And even though you <em>did </em>survive, your life is going to be different from now on.”</p><p>The boy looked downcast and thoughtful. Somber. “What do <em>you </em>know, about all of this?” he asked, almost accusingly. Poor twerp was probably still trying to believe in his father.</p><p>Acnologia bent down in front of him, meeting his eyes. He was not a vain creature, but he knew what he looked like, so he knew what the boy saw: reptilian eyes, arcane markings, and when he pulled his lip upwards in a half-hearted attempt at a smile, sharp teeth. “I’m a dragon slayer—like you are now.”</p><p>“I thought you said you were a doctor?”</p><p>He stood back up. “People can be many things, whether in open or in secret.” And did he know the truth of that: man, dragon—healer, killer. Any more ‘contradictions’ and he would be like that black wizard bastard. “I don’t care what you believe of me, just remember that.”</p><p>The kid looked like there was more he wanted to say, but the fatigue was catching up to him in the passing of his panic. Either he was <em>really </em>tired, or the brat was starting to trust him. Huh. Naïve indeed. “Later,” he commanded, sensing the boy’s intent. “Go back to sleep.”</p><p>“But—” The boy tried to fight it, but Acnologia was not an Arcane Dragon without precedence, and sleep magic was simple, if one knew how to manipulate ether-nano itself. The boy never stood a chance.</p><p>Snoring lightly, Acnologia tucked the boy into the crook of his arm. He had a plan this time.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“For the last time!” An angry woman’s voice resonated from the little forest cottage. He didn’t need to see her to know she was waving that broom around. “Do <em>not </em>try to sell me your damn coo— Oh. It’s you.”</p><p>Porlyusica frowned in the doorway, lowering her broom. “You were just here,” the misanthropic woman accused. “Don’t tell me you lost that fertilizer.”</p><p>“Of course not.” (He left it by that tree. Hopefully it was still there when he returned for it, and if not, it wasn’t worth the woman’s wrath.) “It’s something new.”</p><p>There were very, <em>very </em>few people that Acnologia chose to associate himself with, but the hermit of Magnolia’s forest was one of them. She never asked many questions, and her straight forwardness was to be admired. They shared a sense of isolation and knowledge of the medicines and gardening, making their acquaintanceship mutual. It was ironic, knowing that she was some otherworldly counterpart of the dragoness Grandeeny, a dragon that he should have been allied with but inevitably betrayed. It wasn’t information Porlyusica gave freely, of course, but their voices and their scents were identical. Her Edolas secret was safe with him, however. He could care less. In a way, it was an odd chance at redemption. And, in return, he knew that the old woman could care less about his patronage, after all these years. He also knew that she was still somewhat affiliated with the human population, making her a suitable resource for him in this moment.</p><p>Acnologia pushed aside his cloak, revealing the sleeping child in his arm.</p><p>Her eyes widened with recognition, and she dropped the broom altogether. “Laxus?!”</p><p>“Oh good, you know him.” She ushered him inside, and he laid the kid on her patient-bed. “That would make this easier.”</p><p>“Explain. Now.”</p><p>He did. Acnologia spared no detail, too tired to think of any consequence to hiding any information and unwilling to do the same thing that human did. Porlyusica listened without interruption, so the explanation went quickly.</p><p>She held her head in a tired hand. “So, Ivan is dead, hm?”</p><p>“I hope you’re not looking for an apology.”</p><p>Porlyusica sighed, sounding as old as he was. “No. He was always a bad apple.” She looked at the child. “It’s going to hurt them, however.”</p><p>It would. Human attachment was fascinating in that matter. You miss those who hurt you and hate those who never wished to. He supposed dragons weren’t that different, however.</p><p>Acnologia pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s the location. The boy might want to see for himself, one day.” He paused, hesitant of incurring her random outbursts of anger. “…the body is also still there.”</p><p>Her forehead twitched. He could picture the broom vividly. “I expect that to change before I send Makarov there.”</p><p>“…yes ma’am.”</p><p>Her scowl melted back into a frown. “Dragon slayer magic… To think it still exists.” Porlyusica side eyed Acnologia. “Is there anything I should expect to come of this?”</p><p>“Plenty,” he grunted. “But with enough emotional grounding, he’ll be fine for now.”</p><p>“And later?”</p><p>It was a fate he wished could be avoided. Maybe by some miracle, it would be. “I will bear responsibility for that.”</p><p>Acnologia left the child in her care, knowing that she would take him back to his grandfather when he was awake and stable. He gave her the rundown of what to look out for, but he did promise that he would check up on the kid every once in a while, to make sure nothing drastic happened.</p><p>King of the Dragons, huh? Fate really did have a twisted sense of humor.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Not Parental Material</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia is tired of finding child dragon slayers.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“Can I just call it quits?<br/></em> <em>I can’t take all of this.<br/></em> <em>Fighting all of me (Fighting all of me)<br/></em> <em>I want a second chance,<br/></em> <em>But I’m so broken.”</em></p><p>—Get Scared, “Problematic”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>X778</p><p> </p><p>Very few people lived near the Nirvit Mountains, which was a trait that Acnologia found extremely desirable. It was probably due to its former people’s mysterious extinction, its harsh environment, and the fact that the Worth Woodsea forest at its foot was beyond unnerving, even for his standards. That’s why it came as a surprise to Acnologia to find some new guild had established itself nearby.</p><p>Not that many people even knew of this so-called guild. He himself might have never noticed or heard of it if he hadn’t seen a banner of sorts while he was taili—er, <em>observing</em>—Laxus on some job he was taking in the area.</p><p>The lanky slayer handled it well, though he was still a twerp and he didn’t use his roar even when it would have been beneficial. Well, maybe he didn’t need to, because the task was done. Regardless, Acnologia had been curious to see the lightning dragon slayer’s magic displayed in full, so he watched the boy—teen, now—work at a distance.</p><p>Laxus was talented, sure, but he had a long way to go to attain the true potential of a dragon slayer. More than once, he entertained the thought of training, but he dismissed it each time; there was no point. Besides, <em>not </em>developing his slayer abilities might give him more time. The real concern lied in his mental state, and there seemed to be no problem there. No homicidal rages, as far as he could tell. A real victory.</p><p>Not that he actually <em>interacted </em>with the boy since that night in the forest. Acnologia did not want to involve his entire guild, nor did he want to put unprecedented social stress on himself needlessly. He had never been the communicative sort, and he was too old to start now. Watching from a distance was sufficient. Besides, he wasn’t sure how kindly the boy would take to him knowing that he killed his father like an insect on a wall. It was best not to rattle him if there was no need.</p><p>Satisfied with Laxus’s stability, Acnologia focused on the new occurrence: the guild at the foot of the mountains—Cait Shelter. They could do whatever the hell they wanted for all he cared, but if they were going to be doing some shady shit on <em>his </em>mountain, they would be burned on the spot. The last thing he wanted was the idiotic Magic Council needing a reason to come on his turf.</p><p>From a cursory glance, it seemed to be a cute little legal guild. Nothing sinister or even impressive. He would have left it alone if it weren’t for the fact that it smelled…<em>weird</em>. And faintly like <em>dragon magic.</em></p><p>He was tired already.</p><p>So tired, Acnologia resolved to simply walk into the guild hall and see what was up instead of trying some convoluted way of avoiding people. If they were going to be neighbors, so be it; if he hated them, he hoped they had a nice, fulfilling life.</p><p>He strode into the building, thankful that for once in his life, he was wearing normal clothes, with shoes and everything. (It had nothing to do with stalking—<em>observing</em>, observing—the lightning kid, really.) Regardless, almost every head in the room turned to face him nearly simultaneously. If that wasn’t creepy enough, then what was truly unsettling was the fact that not a single person in the room had a real scent.</p><p>The illusion was impressive, he will give it that. After the first slip up, each ‘person’ moved individually. They made sound, they all had mannerisms—but no illusion could fool all five senses of a dragon. Magic had a smell, which did throw the senses, but a trained nose could differentiate a person’s magic and their body. Illusion magic was also a form of ether-manipulation, which, unfortunately for these bozos, was his specialty.</p><p>He searched for the cause. The illusions watched peaceably. However, there was no altruistic reason he could think of for an illusion of this scale.</p><p>There was only one human scent on the property, and even then, it was faint and muddled. Not a <em>true</em> human scent, per se, but it was real and solid. It was approaching, too.</p><p>“Master?” a voice squeaked. It came from behind one of the illusions—an old man in the only headdress. “Is that a cus…customer?”</p><p>Skies above and gods be damned, it was another fucking child.</p><p>This one was even tinier than Laxus had been, most likely half the age. She was a little girl, clutching a kitten in her arm and tugging at the old-man-illusion with the other. That wasn’t the craziest part, either. It was hard to tell from a distance, but now that he was up close, the sensation was unmistakable: she was a dragon slayer.</p><p>He had the very sudden urge to kill something, but nothing in this room would suit his needs. Damnit.</p><p>“He could be, if he so desires,” the old man who had been called ‘Master’ responded to the girl kindly. He made eye contact with Acnologia, even though it was all a show. “What do you need, sir?”</p><p>Acnologia looked from the girl to the Master. “For you to stop bullshitting me. I know what you are.”</p><p>The old man faltered. What kind of illusion was this, anyway? “Wendy,” he said. “Can you give us a moment?”</p><p>The little girl nodded and scampered off. The man appeared conflicted. Acnologia was just annoyed.</p><p>At the old man’s motion, the two walked off to an opposite room; he humored him because Acnologia wasn’t worried about himself (ha) as much as the girl overhearing. “How did you know?” the man began.</p><p>“You don’t smell.” He was already bored of this conversation. It was the little girl who held his attention, not because she was the only living thing here, but because of her magic. There was no way in hell a twerp like that would survive a lacrima insertion; Laxus had been <em>lucky </em>and he was much older by comparison. It was also different. Active, but dormant at the same time. She was in the <em>process </em>of learning—a process not afforded to lacrima insertions, though they still needed to train their magic to get stronger. It was bewildering.</p><p>Beyond all of that, there was more. He wished she was still nearby, because he needed to work it out. There was a faint smell of something…<em>else</em>. Something familiar in the most foreign of ways.</p><p>Like black magic.</p><p>(Skies above, how he hated black magic.)</p><p>“I see,” the man replied morosely. He sighed tiredly, shaking his head like Acnologia actually cared about his problems. “This illusion was never my intention. I only intended to see my people’s work to an end, but Wendy came to us and—well, she needed more than an old ghost.”</p><p>Sob story, yadda yadda. His patience had run very thin on the specter. “You’re a Nirvit ghost, aren’t you?”</p><p>He startled. “Ah, well, yes, but how did you—?”</p><p>Good. The confirmation was enough to curb his anxiety on the matter. The Nirvit were cowardly people, and even though this dead one put up in impressive charade, he was no longer as concerned about them—him?—summoning the ire of the Council. He was allowed to be his neighbor. Acnologia was content to ignore him.</p><p>“You’re recognizable,” he interrupted curtly. Recognizable to a being who lived in the same era as the Nirvit. Although he was loathed to admit that he knew them because the Montes Secreta had been allies with them, so to speak. Fated to <em>still </em>be associates, he supposed. However, Acnologia had bigger concerns than the Nirvit ghost. “What’s this about the girl?”</p><p>“Sh-she had no home,” the specter managed. “A boy dropped her off in my care, unable to look after the child. She lost her mother a year ago.”</p><p>“A year ago?” There was a piece he was missing here. He just knew it. “Did she have magic then?</p><p>The specter nodded solemnly. “It is a shame she is so young. She would make a fine wizard, with Sky Magic, but I can’t on good conscience allow her out on dangerous jo—”</p><p>“<em>Sky </em>Magic?!” No no no. That was impossible. Sky magic was not practiced anymore. It was a higher art, mastered only by dragons and gods. The closest humans could get was Air Magic, or perhaps other healing arts, but humans simply didn’t have the magic containers to handle the acclimation process.</p><p>Unless they were a dragon slayer, however.</p><p>Even then, it wasn’t a normal element. One couldn’t slap a lacrima in and learn the intricacies of Sky Magic. As an air mage himself, he could attest to that, and not even his Arcane attribute could match it. It was far too similar to enchantment magic.</p><p>He only knew one wielder himself, and that was four hundred years ago.</p><p>“A sky dragon slayer,” he mused aloud. “How nostalgic.”</p><p>“You know about dragon slayers, sir?” the specter asked, some wavering emotion in his voice.</p><p>Acnologia resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I am one,” he responded curtly. <em>Was</em>, at least. He still had the absorption magic unique to slayers, so he supposed that counted, even if he was more <em>dragon </em>than <em>slayer</em> nowadays. Not that it mattered. For his own sanity, Acnologia had stopped trying to figure out what he was a long time ago.</p><p>“Is there something wrong with her?” Acnologia asked instead, worried by the path the conversation was taking. The existence of one so young was still baffling and concerning to him.</p><p>The specter shook his head, however. “Her magic has always seemed very stable to me, if that’s what you mean. Mentally, though…” The specter looked sad.</p><p>Acnologia was just worried. What the hell would a homicidal four-year-old look like? He didn’t want to deal with that, he didn’t want to—</p><p>“She’s very depressed, you see,” the specter finished. “She misses her mother, and she misses the dragons. I’m afraid I could never offer her the comfort she deserves.”</p><p>Missing the dragons? The dragons had gone into hiding or extinction (thanks to him, probably) centuries ago, and the girl was practically an infant. There was no way she should have <em>seen </em>a dragon around here much less know one enough to <em>miss </em>them. And she knew <em>Sky Magic</em>. There was something obviously wrong here and nothing was clicking together.</p><p>However, there was something more immediate he didn’t understand as well. “Why the hell are you telling me this?”</p><p>The specter smiled sadly. “You know the dragon on the mountain, don’t you?”</p><p>Acnologia stiffened. It made sense, in an unfortunate way, that the ghost would have seen him passing through if he had haunted his homeland for all this time. Granted, he hadn’t always settled here himself, but two hundred years ago, Acnologia had a pathetic sense of loneliness and chose to find a place to call home instead of wandering about aimlessly. He had desperately needed a shred of normalcy in the face of his vacillating sanity.</p><p>At least the ghost didn’t connect the dots that he <em>was </em>the dragon. He didn’t have the best of reputations in that form—not after the decimating villages and entire lands in his unholy quest centuries ago. There were myths about him now. <em>Myths</em>. (He actually found them rather amusing, in a sad way.)</p><p>“And if I do?” he responded cautiously.</p><p>“I can’t help but wonder if she would be happier with dragons, and not some foolish old ghost.”</p><p>“Do you even know who the dragon on the mountain is?” The thought that someone looked at the ‘Black Dragon of the Apocalypse’ and actually thought, ‘<em>Hey, he would be a good candidate to raise my toddler,</em>’ was laughable in every sense of the word.</p><p>“If he was a bad dragon, then he would have burned this city long ago.” The smile the specter gave was knowing. <em>Smug</em>. It made Acnologia itch to punch him.</p><p>The worst thing was, he wasn’t entirely incorrect. He couldn’t imagine how messed up the girl’s sense of smell would be, being raised among illusions, and that didn’t acknowledge the pain of discovery. The normal upbringing would be among humans—her own kind—but the specter made it seem like her experience around humans was minimal. Still, he had no idea what he was supposed to do.</p><p>Would Porlyusica kill him if he brought another child to her?</p><p>Probably.</p><p>“Weak argument, but let’s say you’re right,” Acnologia growled. “Do you just expect me to take her to a reclusive dragon? And I’m not explaining to a kid that you lied.” He would make her cry. He had that effect on people, and he wasn’t prepared for that in the slightest.</p><p>“So, you do know the dragon? You’re close, aren’t you?”</p><p>He sighed. His patience was really hitting its limit. “Yes. I do know him, and I know he’s not kid-raising material.”</p><p>“Wendy is a good kid. Very attentive and easy-going.”</p><p>“<em>Why are you trying to pawn off your kid on me?!</em>”</p><p>The knowing look returned. Damnit. “Ah. I had a feeling that you and the dragon were one in the same.” <em>Damnit</em>.</p><p>Could dragons eat ghosts? He was tempted to find out. “That doesn’t <em>answer my question</em>,” he growled impatiently.</p><p>The specter sobered again. He looked tired for someone who was already dead. “I’m hesitant to take her elsewhere. I especially fear that her talk of dragons might scare people. Yet, I don’t know how long I can continue this charade in good conscience. With dragons nearly extinct, I hoped that you might at least be a good transition for her. I know you must have been watching the people of this area for a while. Maybe you could even help her find her mother.”</p><p>“I doubt that…” Acnologia muttered. If he had killed this child’s mother, then he was two for two in the ‘I killed a kid’s parent’ department in the last ten years alone. However, he hasn’t killed a dragon for decades, so there was no way for that to be the case this time. Still, he sincerely doubted any dragon in their right mind would approach him, if there were any left at all.</p><p>“Yes, you’re right,” the specter sighed. “It would be best not to get her hopes up. Still, I’m sure there would be much for you to offer her.”</p><p>Again, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Not that Acnologia felt to be in a position to do so. Unless… “You’re asking me to at least help her transition, right?” Maybe he <em>could </em>take her to Porlyusica, and she could take her to that guild Laxus was a part of. What was one more child dragon slayer for them? He was fairly sure he could survive Porlyusica’s wrath long enough for the transaction to take place. Maybe he could bribe her with rare mountain herbs.</p><p>The specter nodded.</p><p>Acnologia indulged in a heavy sigh. “Fine. <em>Fine</em>. But you go ask that girl first. I don’t want to kidnap her or anything.”</p><p>The specter scurried off with a nod. Acnologia stayed behind in favor of looking up to the sky and questioning his life choices. He should really focus more on hunting down those lacrimas. He was already tired of kid dragon slayers popping up. Any slayer would be his responsibility down the road, should they suffer the same fate. Even before that, he couldn’t help but to wonder if Dragon Tamer magic would affect dragon slayers. It was a paranoid thought, but it has been creeping through his mind for a while now. If it did, then he vowed not to let anyone fall victim to that dreaded magic again.</p><p>He was so focused on this train of thought that he didn’t notice the girl approach until there was a small tug on his cloak. “Shit! Don’t scare me like that!” he growled, feeling his hackles rise. It was a good thing he didn’t reflexively smite her. That would have been bad.</p><p>“S-sorry,” the little girl sniffled. Wendy, the specter called her.</p><p>He must have told her everything, because she smelled strongly of tears. Still, she looked up at Acnologia with big, innocent brown eyes. “Are—are you really a dragon?” There was a glimmer of hope in her voice.</p><p>“Yes.” It was hard to find that weird smell again, beneath the salt. It was faint too, as if faded, but it was strong enough to linger to his sensitive senses. <em>A year</em>, the specter said. Strong magic indeed.</p><p>Wendy smiled, her face lighting up. “Do you know my mother?” she asked excitedly. “Grandeeny?”</p><p>His brain grinded to a halt.</p><p>“<em>Grandeeny?!</em>”</p><p>He hadn’t seen nor heard from Grandeeny in four hundred years. The sky dragoness was one of the proponents of peace, along with other big players like Igneel the Flame Dragon King. Acnologia knew he had betrayed them, ultimately, but he doesn’t remember killing them. But then again, there was a large portion of that war that was hazy in hindsight.</p><p>There was something very, <em>very </em>odd with this picture and he was waiting for the missing piece to slam him in the face.</p><p>Wendy nodded eagerly, unaware of his plight. “You know her?!” she asked, more in confirmation than before. “Do you know where she is? I got s-separated from her and I couldn’t f-find her and—and—” Shit the little girl was about to cry.</p><p>“Slow down,” Acnologia commanded, but it came out as a plea instead. He needed time to think. What did he know? In front of him was a budding sky dragon slayer who called Grandeeny, master dragoness of Sky Magic, her mother. Grandeeny has been silent for four hundred years. She sure as hell was not nearby, otherwise Acnologia would have known. Wendy appeared in the region a year ago, lost. She smelled like she had been coated in very strong dark magic, magic that faded slowly.</p><p>No matter how he rolled it around in his head, it didn’t make sense. What made the <em>least </em>sense, he decided, was the reason why a child was made into a dragon slayer by a peaceable dragon. A dragon who, surely, would have known the terrible consequences of dragon slayer magic by the time this child had even been <em>born</em>.</p><p>He fought the primal urge to walk away and go to sleep, merely ignoring the situation in favor of gaining solace. “I do know her,” Acnologia admitted warily. “<em>But</em>, I haven’t seen her in a very long time.” Porlyusica didn’t quite count. “I can’t promise anything.”</p><p>“That’s okay,” the girl replied, a small smile on her face. Damn those innocent eyes. “I’m happy you’re here.”</p><p>If Acnologia was flustered by the blind trust of a little girl, he did his very best not to show it. Because he <em>wasn’t</em>. Really.</p><p>“So, what are you going to do?” he asked impatiently. “Stay with the ghosts or come with me?”</p><p>Wendy started crying at this. Damnit. “Th-they were all—all so ni-nice to me!” she wailed, hiccupping. “I didn’t… I didn’t kn-know… I don’t…” She struggled to form a complete thought, and Acnologia was at a complete loss on how to rectify the situation. His patience wasn’t well suited for this, but by some miracle, he kept his mouth shut and waited.</p><p>“Is…is it okay?” she asked finally, voice even smaller than it had been. Her big brown eyes were wet with tears as she craned her neck to look up at him.</p><p>“Is what okay?” he responded tiredly.</p><p>She looked back down at the ground, little hands twisting at her skirt. “I-if I come with you?”</p><p>No. No it wasn’t. Acnologia was a menace to society and a generally unredeemable being, no matter how much regret he harbored. The hands that had once sworn to heal were marred with bloodshed. He could draw runes on himself to hide his power and he could shove his draconic strength behind skin that was no longer quite human, but it was still a struggle not to break a world that was fragile to him. He was a monster, and he had made peace with it, but it didn’t make him comfortable. Acnologia was willing to atone, and he was willing to own up to his mistakes, but he was hesitant to corrupt anyone else.</p><p>However, he was also painfully aware that that corruption could happen with or without him. One day, these young dragon slayers could face the same fate. They could fall into the same madness. Or, they could fall victim to the same magic he had been too vengeful to even notice before. Regardless of what could happen, it could all be his fault.</p><p>The girl saw none of that. There was no way that she could. Acnologia suddenly, fiercely, wanted to protect that innocence in her eyes.</p><p>
  <em>“Dragons are selfish creatures,” Acnologia, the true owner of his name, once mused. “They want to protect what they love, what’s around them. Even from themselves.”</em>
</p><p>Perhaps it was that instinct that drove him; perhaps it was Fate. Acnologia may never know what possessed him, but he lowered his wretched hand and gently set it on the girl’s head, barely enough to ruffle her hair. A small smile snuck into his lips without his knowledge.</p><p>“Yes.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I discovered that I absolutely love throwing kids at grouchy old quasi-immortals with questionable morality. A specific trope, but I am down for it any day, any season. </p><p>Comments are my bread and butter, and they certainly will help me try and stick to my update schedule. Got any questions, let me know, and if you have any ideas, I would love to see 'em. There definitely will be a drabble/one-shot fluff-and-filler section to this series in the nearish future. ; )</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Memories and their Makings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The mystery unravels as Wendy remembers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one is a little shorter than normal, but it's transition-y and important to get from point A to point B, because as promised, there shall be no amnesia here. (Whether these children like it not.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“I’ll be good, I’ll be good<br/>For all of the times that I never could.”</em>
</p><p>—Jaymes Young, “I’ll Be Good”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was crazy enough that Acnologia decided he could handle looking after a little girl for a while. He wasn’t expecting the kitten, however.</p><p>A <em>talking </em>one at that.</p><p>He vaguely remembered the white cat in Wendy’s arms, but he never stopped to think that that cat would be coming with them. Or, even as some weird toddler, that that cat could <em>lecture</em> him.</p><p>“Dangerous,” she squeaked crossly. “You’re too big.”</p><p>That last bit sounded like a weak accusation to give a dragon. The kitten also had that wide-eyed startled look that most people gave dragons—a look that Wendy was distinctly missing.</p><p>“Don’t worry Charle!” Wendy giggled. The sad little girl had been positively gleeful ever since Acnologia transformed into his mind-numbing and fear-inducing true form, loading her onto his back to fly to his cave. It was not just the disposition of someone used to dragons, but of someone who had no experienced reason to fear them. “Mr. Acno—Acnolo… Acnololo-ji… Mr. Acno is a good flyer! Like Mommy!”</p><p>For some reason, the girl’s praise was worth the complete butchering of his name. He was also glad that she stopped crying.</p><p>The cat still didn’t look impressed, but she stopped her tirade with a <em>hmph</em> and turned to preen without having to look at him. It bothered him slightly that he had absolutely no idea what that thing was; he’s never seen the species before, and he’s never heard of anything of the sort. Although, there was a part of his old soul that was excited to see something new in the world. Too bad it had to be so rude and pesky.</p><p>Acnologia had not planned this endeavor very far ahead. He knew that taking her to a proper civilized place would be the best course of action in the long run, but it was daytime now and he still had too many questions. He wanted to at least uncover the secret of her circumstance before he entrusted her to Porlyusica or anyone else’s care. However, Magnolia was far and none of this changed his stance on flying during daylight. Besides, he was tired, and the girl didn’t need to experience another change of care so fast. It could be traumatic, or something.</p><p>The dragon curled into his designated sleeping spot. “There’s roast rabbit if you’re hungry,” he grumbled, resisting a yawn. Dealing with people was exhausting.</p><p>However, Wendy didn’t leave. It was highly possible she had already eaten anyways. “Is it okay if I sleep in your wing, Mr. Acno?” she asked shyly.</p><p>He had not considered where she, a human, would sleep. He had considered even less the possibility that she would choose to sleep on<em> him</em>. Was it the dragon instinct that longed to sleep on hot surfaces? Or did his feathers seem the closest thing to a bed to her? It was baffling.</p><p>“Sure. Whatever.”</p><p>Practically squealing with delight, the little girl wiggled her way underneath his feathers. Having a similar wing type as Grandeeny did, it must have been familiar to her. The kitten was dragged along. They both fell asleep very quickly.</p><p>If Acnologia never ended up going to sleep himself, for fear of moving and crushing the child, nobody would know.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“So Grandeeny, your mother, taught you magic?” he asked again, still skeptical.</p><p>Wendy nodded with conviction. “She’s a very good teacher.”</p><p>But why in all the stars would she teach a child dangerous magic? It made no sense. There weren’t even dragons left to slay, much less a war. His memories may have been fuzzy, but he remembered Grandeeny, if only because of all the contact he had with her otherworldly counterpart; the similarities—and the stark differences—were not lost to him. Grandeeny cared far too much about creatures to willingly harm them without reason. However, at any inquiry as to <em>why</em>, Wendy seemed to be as clueless as he was. She thought it was just natural.</p><p>(She had no idea what was in store for her. Acnologia didn’t have the heart to tell her yet, that he had been a slayer too.)</p><p>He sighed. Getting answers was much more difficult than he had hoped.</p><p>The two had slept for a few hours, until just after the sun had peaked. They had probably already slept some before his arrival at Cait Shelter, but the young always needed more sleep. So did the elderly. After Wendy woke up, he showed her where the food was and then took a nap himself. He didn’t sleep long though. Too restless. It was evening now, and Wendy had been shy about eating without him, so the dragon was now watching her happily scarf down roast rabbit and oranges as he attempted to get answers out of her.</p><p>“Do you remember anything about where you two lived?” It couldn’t have been close by, but there was also no way Wendy could have made it far by herself. She mentioned that there was a boy who took her to Cait Shelter that she traveled with, but to wander miles on foot was no small task. Especially to a six-year-old and some preteen who must of have been blind, to leave her with a ghost.</p><p>“It was a forest,” the girl replied, very helpfully. “With, umm… A little cottage, where I slept.”</p><p>He was glad that his dragon features wouldn’t betray his frustration as easily. “Anything else? Any landmarks?”</p><p>The little girl blinked owlishly. “Land…marks?”</p><p>“Distinguishing features.” Wait, make it more kid speak. “Unique things.”</p><p>Wendy pondered this for a while. “There was a waterfall Mommy would take me to bathe in, sometimes.”</p><p>A waterfall. That narrowed it down <em>some </em>but not nearly enough. “Anything else about it?” he prodded.</p><p>“Um… It was sparkly.”</p><p>“Sparkly,” he repeated dryly.</p><p>She nodded sensibly. “Mommy said it was because of… of…um… starbits!”</p><p>Starbits? What kind of weird fantastic answer was—?</p><p><em>The star lake! </em>Acnologia froze at the realization. It was a legend in <em>his </em>time: a star that crashed down on a mountain, and the tears of its friends ran down and made a river. It was ancient. It had probably been a fluke that the water glimmered, but it had been a fun story to tell children.</p><p>It was a lake system that had dried out centuries ago.</p><p>An uncomfortable idea began to settle.</p><p>“What do you remember before you got lost?” he asked abruptly.</p><p>Wendy stared. “Before…” Her brow furrowed.</p><p>The hint of magic stirred his glands. It was a strong type of black magic, for it to have lingered for so long. Or faded slowly. If Acnologia hadn’t known any better, he would say that it was because the flow of ethernano was not acclimating to her easily—like a drop of oil in water. Which should have been impossible, had she been born and raised here. But she might not have been.</p><p>He wasn’t a stranger to dimensional travel. Perhaps it was not the only oddity out there.</p><p>Yet, there was something familiar about its presence. Something nagging. There was only one source that Acnologia could think of that could possibly meddle in such a manner, no matter how slim the chance. On a whim, Acnologia prodded the subject, hoping to be wrong. “Have you ever seen the Black Wizard?”</p><p>Wendy tilted her head, almost comically. “Black Wizard?” she repeated cluelessly.</p><p>It had been a long shot. “Uses black magic. Wears the same damn black tunic everywhere he goes, and smells like death.”</p><p>She frowned, eyes distant and brow furrowing. “…with the white thing on his shoulder?”</p><p>Acnologia stilled. She <em>did </em>know him… The magic around her stirred, and it was then that he realized that there was something within her as well. She looked ready to pass out. She was reacting something, but even he was at a complete loss as to the cause.</p><p>“He was…” she tried to continue. “There with…the others…at…” Acnologia shot out his tail to cushion the girl as she toppled, preventing her from hitting the ground. Something was unraveling within her, and he prayed it wouldn’t harm her.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Wendy’s memory returned slowly, evidencing the magic involved with its suppression. The traces of foreign magic waned the more she remembered, and the magic that coalesced inside of her quieted as soon as it stirred. It could have been her magic container, but it had been so…different. And fleeting. He was forced to ignore it lest he suffer with not knowing.</p><p>After three days, her memory was no longer clouded. However, they were still the memories of a young child and hard to discern, especially when one was <em>not </em>the child in question. Another two days of rambling stories later, Acnologia finally felt like he had a decent picture of what happened.</p><p>First, and most importantly, there were more dragon slayer children, which—while absolutely <em>maddening</em>—he should have expected by now. Four others, to be precise; Wendy remembered them as followed: Sing, Road, Nat-nii, and Jeel. (At least, he’s fairly certain that’s what he heard.) Sing was a boy and he glowed, Road was a shadow, Nat-nii was loud and on fire, and Jeel had metal on his face. Oh, and Nat-nii and Jeel were always fighting, a fact that upset Wendy greatly.</p><p>Based on the information she had on them versus her mother, it didn’t seem like she was around them often. Instead of the other children, she talked of ‘Anna-sensei’ far more. He got the impression that she was human, and the woman was most likely responsible for their human needs like clothing and maybe education, judging by the title Wendy bestowed upon her. The other player Wendy referred to as “Nat-nii-nii” which confused Acnologia greatly until he determined that it was none other than Zeref. However, it implied a connection between Zeref and a child dragon slayer—but not the <em>other </em>child dragon slayers—that was even more befuddling. The Black Wizard did not have connections. He couldn’t, and he repeatedly refused to. Perhaps it was the girl’s imagination—they could merely have looked similar.</p><p>Regardless, Wendy was raised and taught magic by Grandeeny, and she met these other figures when Grandeeny had her ‘meetings’ and Wendy got to play with the other children, while Anna watched over them. Zeref was a rarer sight, apparently, and she gave the impression that when he was there, it was for the meeting.</p><p>He was also there when the meeting was moved to a different place, next to a door. Wendy remembered nothing else after—only waking up on a hillside, alone.</p><p>It seemed that Acnologia was right to blame the Black Wizard on this phenomenon, but it also seemed like the dragons were complacent to the events that led to this. Whatever ‘this’ was. The time issue was still perplexing.</p><p>He had no idea what this ‘door’ was, as he rarely snooped into Zeref’s many, <em>many </em>wretched creations. If it existed too close to him, he would destroy it, sure, but he didn’t want to spend his life cleaning up after the Black Wizard when he could scarcely clean up his own shit. Besides, the Black Wizard’s presence was disturbing, anything related to him tasted awful and gave him indigestion, and Acnologia hated his guts. Something that was mutual.</p><p>However, theirs was a fated rivalry. Even when Acnologia thought about ignoring his ploys, they would come to slap him in the face. And in Wendy’s case, it wasn’t something malevolent or destroyable. In fact, as disturbed as he was by her state of being, the child was actually pleasant to be around.</p><p>The Nirvit ghost hadn’t been kidding when he said that the girl was well behaved. She cleaned up after herself and she wasn’t unnecessarily loud, although she smiled and giggled a lot. She would watch him tend to his garden and ask questions, but not too quickly. And, without fail, she would always want to snuggle under his wing every night.</p><p>Which was annoying, because Acnologia had accustomed himself to sleeping during the day and working at night—or sleeping for days at a time, even—but thanks to this little blue-haired imp, his sleep schedule was being thoroughly wrecked.</p><p>He would try and sleep anyway, but he wouldn’t get far before waking up to the fear that she would fall off the mountain or something, and next thing he knew, she was asking about his garden.</p><p>Damn child and those big brown eyes. He was starting to understand why the Nirvit ghost pretended to be an entire guild for her.</p><p>The cat, however, whittled at his patience. He wondered if it would be traumatizing to the girl if they ate her nagging kitten for breakfast, but he restrained himself when the answer was a clear ‘yes.’</p><p>“Why do you look so mean?” the kitten—Carl or something—accused. Wendy was drawing on some deerskins left over from a previous meal.</p><p>“I <em>am </em>mean,” Acnologia growled. “Now leave me alone.” He couldn’t properly think like this.</p><p>The kitten huffed. “Rude.”</p><p>“Brat.” He showed her his teeth and the kitten scurried behind Wendy with the intended effect. Pleased with himself, Acnologia attempted to return to his reverie, but this time, it was Wendy who interrupted him.</p><p>“Ac-nii!” she called, scrambling over. “Look!”</p><p>He couldn’t see a thing, too distracted trying to figure out what the fuck she just called him. It was cute and adorable, and if she ever called him that in public, he would be ruined forever. However, his name wreaked havoc on her untrained tongue, so he begrudgingly ignored it for her sake, also trying to ignore the guilt that chewed at him in the face of her display of trust and comradery.</p><p>“What is it?” he replied gruffly.</p><p>She held up the deerskin. On it was a bad image of what he could only assume was a dragon and a girl. “Your mother?”</p><p>“No, silly!” she giggled. “It’s you! And that’s me!”</p><p>His resolve to drop her off for Porlyusica to handle waned yet again. It had been so long since someone looked at him with such trust and wonder. He didn’t deserve a single ounce of it.</p><p>He snorted. “That looks nothing like me.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>That night, a little over a week since he first took her with the intent of passing her onto someone else, she slept under his wing while Acnologia remained painfully awake.</p><p>The possibility that these children, trained to be dragon slayers, had been sent from the past vexed him greatly. There was a reason, surely, to do such a ridiculous thing, and if Grandeeny was involved, that reason couldn’t be hair brained. Yet it eluded him.</p><p>No, that wasn’t quite right. Acnologia had a sinking suspicion. Dragon slayers were raised up to face the threat of ravaging human-hating dragons—<em>or, </em>he thought bitterly<em>, controlled ones</em>. The war had been terrible, and yet, Wendy had no memory of any conflict, despite existing afterward. Acnologia himself had nearly single-handedly ended that war…through genocide.</p><p>These children were taught a dangerous yet powerful magic, and if he was correct, sent into the future. If they were brought up purely to be warriors, then sending them away so soon made no sense. No, there was an impetus—a danger. It was an action most likely done to protect the children, even if their fate was a finicky one. What, at that time, could possibly have been that big of a threat?</p><p>The answer was a mocking yet clear one. It was him.</p><p>The only other person capable of as much destruction as he was, was Zeref, and he helped them. Acnologia was the dragon in this scenario—the one needing to be slayed. He remembered, like a nightmare, the blood he bathed in. He was a monster.</p><p>The fate of these children was his fault.</p><p>He would like to blame insanity and negligence on their dragons’ part—and he <em>did </em>because <em>what the hell?</em>—but he knew that it wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t lost his humanity so easily.</p><p>It was him who was left to take responsibility for this.</p><p>Acnologia had no idea how he could possibly atone for what he had done—if he ever could— but he decided that he would start by protecting these children. Maybe he could find a way to prevent them from following his fate. At the very least, he could ensure that they didn’t go through it alone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Acnologia: I am a mean, grumpy dragon. I am a misanthrope, the Night, and I work Alone.</p><p>Wendy: *exists*</p><p>Acnologia: I have known this child for less than one week, but if anything happens to her, I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Angry and the Lonely</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia discovers what a non-accidental adoption looks like.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thiiiis one is a longer one. And we get more dragon slayers! Woo!</p><p>By the way, I upped the rating solely because these nutjobs like to cuss too much, and when the f-bombs started flying, and I figured I would be a good adult and worn the twelve year olds on this site. But really, <i>this</i> installment of the series will be fairly tame.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“If weakness is a wound that no one wants to speak of<br/>
Then “cool” is just how far we have to fall<br/>
I am not immune, I only want to be loved<br/>
But I feel safe behind the firewall.”</em>
</p><p>—Sanctus Real, “I’m Not Alright”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Acnologia had spent so long avoiding people that when it came time to <em>look </em>for them, it proved a truly arduous task.</p><p>After a month of mindless searching and botched leads, he finally found something promising. There was a guild that boasted having a dragon slayer, but unlike other similar rumors that ended in lies and dead ends, this one was surrounded by rhetoric that it was a young teen.</p><p>It was this lead that led to him flying to Oak Town in the middle of the night, Wendy and Charle on his back. The last few leads he had investigated without the girl—he finally felt comfortable leaving her in his very secure middle-of-nowhere cave for short periods of time—but she would be useful when it came to confirming whether it was someone she knew or whether it was a <em>new</em> gremlin. The cat was simply part of the package. The two were inseparable, though Charle acted more like a nanny than a toddler.</p><p>He landed outside of the town, transforming back to his human form and taking the time to write his runes. (He really needed a pre-made object for these things, like a bracer. He should work on that.) They made it a third of the way to the city limit before he needed to hoist Wendy onto his shoulders, which was longer than he gave the six-year-old credit for. She was strong for her age, alright.</p><p>It was the beginning of daybreak when the entered the town, just like he had hoped. Wendy was asleep, and Charle would wake up every now and again to make sure he wasn’t lost. So considerate.</p><p>Now, here came the part he hated the most.</p><p>“Hey.” He waved down a random woman, who looked back at him with an unsettled look. Though as scary as he usually appeared to be, he imagined that effect was greatly mitigated by the child on his back. “Where’s Phantom Lord?”</p><p>“At end of Gilmer street,” she replied. “Is…there a problem?”</p><p>The woman sounded wary of conflict. Acnologia had nothing to promise her, even though conflict was not his goal. “I’m just looking for someone there. Hear anything about a dragon slayer?”</p><p>She sighed, placing a hand on her hip. “I don’t know anything about dragons, but there’s a boy they say is one, whatever that means. He’s awfully young to be running around with that guild though, so it must be something important.”</p><p>It was a confirmation to the rumor, at least. “Got a name?”</p><p>She eyed him warily. “You lookin’ for someone you don’t even know?”</p><p>Great, she probably thought he was a kidnapper or something. What was he gonna say? That there were too many kids in question to figure out which one?</p><p>He gestured to Wendy. She yawned, beginning to slowly blink out of her nap. “This one knows him.”</p><p>At the sight of Wendy, the woman softened a little. “I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s people in this town that do. You could even go straight to the guild hall, if ya’ feeling bold. Although… between you and me, that little girl of yours shouldn’t get too near to that place.”</p><p>“Ac-nii,” Wendy started, voice muffled because her face was still in his hair. “Are we there yet?”</p><p>“Oh, your little sister, I’m sorry,” the woman amended. Acnologia tried not to visibly startle as her first implication dawn on him. Pretending to be siblings was weird, but it was preferable to…<em>that</em>. He wasn’t old enough to be a parent.</p><p>“Y-yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll keep what you said in mind. Thank you.”</p><p>Acnologia headed in the vague direction she gave, silently chastising himself for not coming up with a better plan. Sure, he could go straight to the guild hall and start demanding things, but one, that woman made them out to be an uncooperative bunch, and two, he didn’t want Wendy to watch him slaughter half a guild if it came to that. It would be easier and less stressful for him to talk to the kid by himself without other humans interfering. The question was, how the hell was he supposed to do that?</p><p>Wendy shuffled off of his shoulders and skipped to his side, Charle flapping beside her with Aerial Magic, which seemed to be instinctual like most animals rather than learned like with humans. She reached up for his hand, and he took it begrudgingly. Damn it was small, but she wouldn’t wander off this way. Not that she was that type of kid.</p><p>Spotting an outdoor café, Acnologia got an idea. “You hungry, squirt?” he asked Wendy. The girl nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>They sat down and he bought whatever pastry Wendy picked out for himself, glad he thought to bring his emergency-human-money pouch with him, something usually reserved for clothing for the both of them. While she ate her breakfast, sharing bits with a picky Charle, he focused on his senses and listened.</p><p>Towns were noisy by default, but practice allowed him to break down the sounds and smells and move from instance to instance. A partial transformation on his ears to allow them to rotate would help tremendously, but it was a public place. The entire morning passed, much to his chagrin, and while Acnologia knew all about Jessica’s and Bryan’s breakup and the fact that old man Humphrey was chopping up rats with the beef at the butcher’s shop, there was nothing on the dragon slayer. Until he got lucky, hearing a rather loud confrontation the next street over.</p><p>“Master might’ve let you in, but you’s just a brat!” an old male voice yelled.</p><p>“<em>Huh?! </em>You disrespecting me?!”</p><p>“I’s saying that dragons ain’t real, so you must be some sorta’ fake wizard and I ain’t scared of no—”</p><p>“SAY THAT AGAIN TO MY FIST YOU OLD FART!”</p><p>Acnologia stood up. “Wendy, are you finished?”</p><p>“Yep!”</p><p>“Good, we’re going to go see if we found one of your cousins.” A term for the other dragon slayers that gave Wendy great joy to use. Judging from the stories, it seemed fairly accurate too.</p><p>When they got to the street corner, there was a man already laying on the ground, unconscious. A lanky squirt—most likely a young teen—stood over him with his arm transformed into an iron club and a foul look on his face. He had dark shoulder length hair as messy as his own, red eyes, and a complexion that reminded him of the people of Minstrel. There were three metal studs on each brow that gave him a more uncomfortable reminder of the region, although there were piercings in other places too. Most importantly, he looked angry and wild, and he knew from experience that those feelings were born of tragedy.</p><p>“Jeel!” Wendy cried happily, both confirming his identity and calling the attention of the kid in question. Acnologia had the distinct impression that he was going to be way more of a handful than Wendy was.</p><p>“Who you pointing to, brat?” the dragon slayer growled. Appearance and smell confirmed the identity of his magic—an iron dragon slayer, to be exact.</p><p>“You,” Acnologia responded in her stead, guiding Wendy closer to his side. He eyed the slight crowd that had gathered to presumably watch the first fight. “Care to have a chat? Somewhere more private.”</p><p>The kid, ‘Jeel,’ snorted. “Like hell I’m gonna go somewhere with some losers.”</p><p><em>Don’t punch the kid don’t punch the kid don’t punch the—</em> Acnologia took a deep breath and stepped closer. “You will if you want answers, <em>dragon slayer</em>.”</p><p>“You doubtin’ me?!” The iron dragon slayer, most likely used to the rhetoric, immediately turned violent. He threw a punch, which Acnologia caught easily, much to the horror of the kid.</p><p>“No.” Acnologia bent down closer, gauging the kid’s wild expression. His magic—and belligerence—struck a chord with him. “Let me guess… Metallicana?”</p><p>The kid faltered. “How…how did you know…?”</p><p>“Private. Now.”</p><p>Begrudgingly, the kid finally complied, and they moved to a quiet side alley. He crossed his arms expectantly.</p><p>Acnologia sighed. “You’re a dragon slayer who was raised be a dragon—Metallicana—but one year ago, he suddenly disappeared, and you were left on your own. Right?”</p><p>“The hell?! You reading my mind or something?!”</p><p> “No. The same thing happened to Wendy, here. Because there were five of you, and you’re all from four hundred years ago. You grew up with your dragon but you would meet with the others on occasion, and one day, you were taken to a big-ass door in the woods, and then you woke up by yourself. Sound familiar?”</p><p>“What? That’s—” The kid’s eyes widened as the memory block began to crumble. He held his head for a few minutes and Acnologia watched. It came undone quicker with the full story than it did with Wendy trying to remember bits on her own.</p><p>He slumped against the wall, looking exhausted. And the micro-sweat betrayed his panic. “Shit.” Acnologia felt bad for a moment. This kid was older than Wendy, and there might have been more for him to remember, and not everything was bound to be pleasant.</p><p>“I think it has something to do with the fact that you somehow jumped eras. Anyway, is your name really ‘Jeel’ or is that just this squirt’s A-plus pronunciation skills at play?”</p><p>“It’s Gajeel. Gajeel Redfox,” he grunted. “And who are you?”</p><p>Unlike Wendy, Gajeel was old enough to fear his name, but it wasn’t something he could hide for long. Especially with the looming possibility that he would have to give Gajeel a more detailed explanation to satiate him. “Acnologia,” he finally responded.</p><p>Bless the stars, it didn’t mean anything to the iron dragon slayer. He was allowed to kick that can further down the road. “What do you want with me?” the kid asked.</p><p>The mix of distrust and resignation in his voice was unsettling. “Nothing, really. I just don’t like idea of a bunch of kid dragon slayers running around. Wendy here had nobody else, so she’s under my care now.” And by the stars, was that a weird thing to say aloud. “You’re welcome to join us.” Otherwise, he’ll just have to keep an eye on this kid from afar, like he did with Laxus, although he didn’t have the same respect for this place as he did for the guild that Porlyusica was involved with.</p><p>“I can take care of myself!” The slight catch in his voice betrayed him.</p><p>“Don’t sound so confident, kid,” he deadpanned. Kidnapping was ‘wrong,’ but he was considering it after hearing things about that Phantom Lord guild all morning. Hopefully, the kid would come to his senses; a dragon slayer with raging hormones in a guild that thrived off survival of the fittest didn’t sound like something that would help Gajeel in the long run.</p><p>Suddenly, Gajeel hissed through the nose and then darted out of the alley. “Fuck, <em>Rogue</em>.”</p><p>“Rogue?” Acnologia kept up with the lanky teen without a problem, though he did sweep Wendy back onto his shoulders. Was this the ‘Road’ boy that Wendy spoke of? He had been hoping that no dragon would be idiotic enough to let a kid be named that, but he was fairly sure ‘rogue’ was worse.</p><p>“He’s just a kid,” Gajeel explained very hypocritically. “No older than Pipsqueak over there. He—He’s <em>here </em>and I can’t believe I just…<em>forgot.</em>”</p><p>“Was he with you guys? Back then?”</p><p>Gajeel nodded.</p><p>Well, that was easier than Acnologia hoped. Two slayers in one go. Truly, a miracle.</p><p>“Do you know where he is?”</p><p>“Yes! Maybe… Shut up and let me find him, old man!”</p><p>Gajeel paused to sniff the air, turning around and heading the other direction. Acnologia resigned himself to follow the kid’s baby dragon senses; they’ll get there eventually. Hopefully. Finally, Gajeel led them to an old decrepit church on the edge of town. He crept through the back gate, and Acnologia followed, wondering if he was <em>trying </em>to be sneaky and failing at it, or he felt the need to crouch. He decided not to cast an invisibility spell on them, because it was fun to watch.</p><p>“Rogue!” he hissed. “<em>Rogue</em>. I know you can hear me.”</p><p>After a few baited moments, there was a shuffling sound, and Acnologia realized why Gajeel was making an attempt at being inconspicuous. The child that emerged from the back door was as small as Wendy, and his dirty clothes and fading bruises made him look smaller. Acnologia’s primal urge to maim something was returning.</p><p>“Ga-Gajeel?” the boy called hesitantly. He didn’t get any closer, though he looked at the older one with hopeful red eyes. “I shouldn’t be out here…”</p><p>Very briefly, Gajeel glanced at Acnologia pleadingly. “When you sought me out that day, and I thought that was the first time I met you? Did you remember me?”</p><p>Rogue blinked slowly. “I…I don’t know.”</p><p>Acnologia heard movement from the inside of the building, with an angry woman calling for the boy and promising a bunch of terrible things for when he returned. On a whim, Acnologia moved forward, snatching the boy under his arm before the boy could even register it. “H-hey!”</p><p>Rogue started to melt out of his grip. Damn shadow dragons… “No, you don’t. I’m <em>helping</em> you.” Before the boy could finish, he snatched Gajeel by the back of the collar and jumped.</p><p>Luckily, the shadow boy was not stupid enough to slip out of his grip mid-air. While not in flight, his physical abilities—backed by magic power in the right places—could perform amazing feats. For his sake, he ignored Gajeel’s terrified yelping. At least Wendy was enjoying herself, and Charle was sleeping again.</p><p>They landed outside city limits. Had he just kidnapped children? If he did, he found he didn’t care. “There. I bought you more time. Now, walk and talk.”</p><p>Rogue froze to his spot. “I-I didn’t do anything bad…did I?” He looked at Gajeel nervously, to which the teen avoided his gaze. Sheesh, this kid was going to be a handful—especially if he had the same tact as Metallicana. (Which was to say, <em>less than none</em>.)</p><p>“No,” Gajeel mumbled, still avoiding eye contact. Rogue had the same complexion and garnet eyes, though they didn’t smell related. A regional thing, then. “And, um… I’m sorry. When I yelled at you. I didn’t remember you.”</p><p>“I-it’s okay.” Rogue furrowed his brow. “Am I…supposed to remember something?”</p><p>Gajeel actually took it upon himself to explain the situation to the boy. There was a guilt in his actions that Acnologia questioned but chose not to prod. He didn’t know what had happened between the two, but it wasn’t enough to shake little Rogue entirely, because he was quick to latch onto Gajeel and his words. Like with Wendy, however, the more his memory returned, the less he could hold onto consciousness. He was amazed that the scrawny kid held on as long as he did. By the time they were far enough away that Acnologia was comfortable enough transforming (even though it was still more light out than he would have liked, the cloud cover helped), Rogue was fast asleep in the crook of his arm.</p><p>And Gajeel was still with them. If he had been intent on staying in Oak Town, he had the opportunity to turn back for the past thirty minutes. Instead, he walked beside him in contemplative silence. Acnologia had already made up his mind on taking Rogue, because his impression of that orphanage was as high as a dried-out puddle, but it would be more problematic to drag an unwilling teen.</p><p>He turned to him. “Well?”</p><p>Gajeel glared indiscriminately. “Why are you doing this? You don’t even know us.”</p><p>“You’re right,” he agreed, feeling the sting of the words. Why was he doing this? Guilt? Definitely guilt, but there was something else. Something warm and light. Because for the first time in centuries, Acnologia enjoyed waking up in the mornings. He enjoyed meals. He enjoyed hearing people laugh. He enjoyed little things that had long since dulled in his prolonged existence.</p><p>So maybe it was the responsibility he held—the guilt of his sins—but maybe he was just selfish.</p><p>“But I know what you are. I know it’s not easy, and I don’t like the idea of people so young going through it while experiencing memory loss and chronal displacement. I want to help, so sue me.”</p><p>“And what <em>do</em> ya’ know about this?” he hissed lowly, careful not to scream. “What could you <em>possibly—</em>?”</p><p>“I’m a dragon slayer, too.”</p><p>Gajeel snapped his jaw shut, though he still eyed him warily. “It’s not the same,” he decided cryptically.</p><p>“I’m sorry, <em>what?</em>” Trying to connect with this brat and—</p><p>“Those lacrimas. They make you powerful, so whatever. It’s not the <em>same</em>.”</p><p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about, brat.”</p><p> “I know you’re talkin’ shit! You’re just meddling in our business ‘cause you know we’re better than your fake dragon magic! So don’t lecture me, old man! I don’t even know why I bothered…”</p><p>Deep breaths. <em>Deep breaths</em>. “You don’t respond to help well, do you?”</p><p>“Help?” Gajeel scoffed. “I didn’t ask for your <em>damn help! </em>I forgot some things, so what?! I was better off not knowing that instead of just abandoning me, Metallicana abandoned me in the <em>fucking future!</em>”</p><p>Wendy had already been drowsy before this started. He waved his hand over her and she fully succumbed to it with the aid of his sleep magic. He didn’t want her to see this.</p><p>Careful to hold back, he decked Gajeel in the jaw.</p><p>He was thrown back, skittering across the dusty ground like a pebble. He dug his fingers to still himself and looked up at Acnologia with rage. “You wanna fight?! It’ll take more than just a cheap shot to stop me!” However, Acnologia either truly scared him, or the kid didn’t know how to hold back, because he inhaled and readied a breath attack. <em>“Iron Dragon Roar!”</em></p><p>Stars, he hated earthen magic. Luckily, the kid was still an amateur and there weren’t metal bits channeled through the roar itself. Acnologia ate it swiftly, frowning. It still tasted like dirt.</p><p>Gajeel faltered, eyes wide. “What…? How—?!”</p><p>The kid turned his fist into an iron club, extending straight towards Acnologia. He grabbed it, and with a little application of pressure, the metal crumbled. If the failed breath attack hadn’t gotten to him, the panic was starting to set in now. Poor kid looked like a cornered animal.</p><p>“Are you finished? I’m not actually trying to fight you.” The punch was just to shut him up. Both of them needed that.</p><p>“What…what are you? Another iron slayer?”</p><p>“No. I eat all magic. Don’t feel bad, kid—no one can beat me.”</p><p>Gajeel hissed. “Oh yeah? Well maybe—”</p><p>“Oh no no, don’t you start again. You’ll hurt yourself.” Acnologia pinched the bridge of his nose. This was like talking to an obstinate rock. “Look—I’ve been a dragon slayer for <em>far </em>longer than you’ve been alive. It wasn’t a fair fight to start with. Now, if you’re willing to calm the fuck down and listen to me, maybe we can come to an understanding.”</p><p>“Haven’t you’ve said enough? You got my memories back. You figured out who I am, and you found the kid. I have nothing else to give you.”</p><p>“That’s not necessarily true—I’m sure you can give me a far better explanation than the six-year-olds—but I’m not going to ask right now. I told you I was not going to force you to come, and against my better judgement, I’m going to stick to it. However, I don’t want to leave you to have an emotional aneurism.”</p><p>The kid’s anger was still there, but the hurt was becoming more prevalent. “So what? You’re just gonna’ talk it out and it’ll go away? I’m not a baby—I wasn’t born yesterday. You want to help me? Then just leave me alone!”</p><p>Being alone was the last thing this kid needed. Being alone when the hurt stews turns it to apathetic anger. It turns a person into a monster that wants to end the world just to end its own suffering.</p><p>He wasn’t going to watch someone else go through that with a good conscience. Acnologia clenched his teeth, knowing that this was his fault in the first place. “I’m sorry, okay? Your memories hurt and your life sucks, and I just made it all worse out of the blue. I get it. But that doesn’t make living in ignorance a better option.”</p><p>There were things that he wished he could forget. But when he had forgotten them, he had forgotten how to stop them from repeating, and he had forgotten how to care.</p><p>“Like hell I care about some dumb memories!” Gajeel’s stuttering heart and hitched voice revealed his lie. “I just don’t want you meddling in my business! I can take care of myself!”</p><p>Acnologia watched the shaking teen, something soft settling over his own frustration. “You don’t have to go through it alone. That doesn’t make you stronger, it just makes you lonely.”</p><p>If Gajeel clenched his teeth any harder, they were going to crack. “Shut up! You don’t know a <em>thing </em>about me!”</p><p>He walked closer to the young teen, and neither broke eye contact. “See these markings on my forehead?” he spoke softly. “They sure as hell aren’t eyebrows. I lost those a long time ago. Sound familiar?”</p><p>Gajeel stepped back. “Wh-what are you talking about?”</p><p>“I was lucky,” Acnologia continued, chest tight. These were memories that he had tried to bury a long time ago, but if he had forced the kid to remember, then it was the least he could do to return the favor. “A traveling doctor bought me. She taught me magic, and she removed the studs and let me go. I had nothing but what she taught me, and it took me decades to ever step foot in Minstrel again. But I made it out. So did you. Focus on that.”</p><p>“Y-you… You were also…?” For the first time, Gajeel sounded like the child he was.</p><p>Acnologia nodded.</p><p>Tears began to prick at the corner of his eyes, but Gajeel furiously scrubbed them away, struggling to even out his breathing. “I r-ran away and Metallicana found me,” he admitted quietly.</p><p>Acnologia could tell how badly the boy missed the iron dragon. His absence must sting. He knew first-hand how safe it felt to be protected by a dragon when it seemed that the world was out to hurt you. And when it seemed that that dragon betrayed you when you were finally comfortable being vulnerable, it hurt far worse than being alone. It made one feel weak for ever daring to trust someone in the first place.</p><p>“It’s okay.” Slowly, he laid a hand on his shoulder, and the boy didn’t shy away from it. In fact, he seemed more touch-starved than Wendy had been. “You have nothing to prove here. Just let it out.”</p><p>The young teen had built an excellent façade over the years—an iron fortress all his own. But even callouses fall, and the slayer was still a child. In the middle of an abandoned road, where no one else could hear, the fortress cracked, and Gajeel screamed and cried into his chest until the sun came down.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, if anyone was wondering, I'm treating the memory thing a little more lax than the show did. Given that they are younger and closer to the events of the time jump, it's not as difficult to prod them into existence. Also, instead of just seeing something they would recognize (like each other, and while Natsu did recognize Wendy in canon, he dismissed it) they are also being told that they <i>should</i> remember things at the same time. Hence, the process is jumpstarted. As to whether they pass out, since the memory loss was a result of a magic mishap, realignment takes their magic stamina, so the younger ones have less. However, the strain of the memories also takes a toll on this. </p><p>Also, I've had that headcannon for Gajeel for a while. Solely because I questioned why he had eyebrow piercings as a child, and he has no eyebrows. It was actually in the writing of this story that I added Acno in on the fun, because they have similar features and builds, and no real eyebrows. The lines on Acnologia's face don't count. So the headcannon goes, in ancient Minstrel, slaves were marked by eyebrow piercings, which served sort of as a slaver lacrima insert. Sort of like how in some cultures, slaves were identified by earrings. Because we know why Natsu ended up with Igneel, but not the others. However, Gajeel is the only one old enough to remember....and then we never address it. So to bad for him, I did, and I'm mean. You're welcome.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Soup is for the Soul (and the Sick)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rogue isn't feeling well, so Acnologia runs an errand.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's a little surprise/sneak preview down in the end note (^◡^)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Everything changes</em><br/>
<em>My heart’s at the wheel now</em><br/>
<em>And all my mistakes</em><br/>
<em>They make sense when I turn them around.”</em>
</p>
<p>—Sara Bareilles, “Everything Changes”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“You live in a cave?”</p>
<p>“Yes, and it’s quite comfortable. Don’t sound too impressed.”</p>
<p>Acnologia carried the still sleeping Rogue to the pile of fur that Wendy took naps in. Now that the occupants of his cave have doubled, however, he was realizing that he was going to need better arrangements. Like better bedding, for instance, because sleeping on top of him wasn’t going to be an apt solution forever. Especially when his sleep schedule technically didn’t match that of a human child’s.</p>
<p>Gajeel only scoffed, so Acnologia chose to ignore him for the time being. He could see the burning question in his gaze, however, which was only natural after seeing someone you believed to be a man turn into a dragon. It was a <em>later</em> problem, he decided. Wendy was too young to ask the right questions, but he knew that it would be impossible and tiring to hide his condition from them forever. It was just a conversation he dreaded because he couldn’t tell them that it would never happen to them and he didn’t want to say that it would.  </p>
<p>His eyes moved back to Rogue. He had been asleep longer than Wendy had been the first time. There was also a barely noticeable sour tinge to his breath. There was no precedent in his knowledge, but his instincts told him something else was wrong. “Wendy?”</p>
<p>The girl yawned but answered with a happy chirp. “Yes, Ac-nii?”</p>
<p>“Can you go get the Echinacea? Do you remember what it looks and smells like?”</p>
<p>She nodded, running off to the branch of the cave the garden was in.</p>
<p>“Just how big is this place anyway?” Gajeel grumbled.</p>
<p>“Big.” He had decades to carve it out to his liking, ever since he decided to call one place home, despite his occasional travel. Although large as it was, it wasn’t made with other people in mind. There was the tunnel leading from the outside mouth he used as a tunnel, the large chamber where he slept, and the two long tunnels he dug out of boredom. The first branch he ended in a knoll where he knocked an inconspicuous hole in the mountain to let in light for the garden, which he has grown considerably in the past years. The second branch was far less purposeful, but he used to cram random belongings he had somehow accrued over the years. It wasn’t impressive in the least—mostly clothes and a few tools—with some valuables he stashed merely for the fact that even he needed Jewel on occasion. While hunting and not needing to pay for shelter and luxuries went a long way, even he (unfortunately) needed to enter society sometimes.</p>
<p>He could feel the teen’s eyes bearing into his back, and he could hear the echoing pitter of Wendy’s feet and she moved farther away. They were out of her earshot now, which was an opportunity that may not happen often. “Out with it,” he grunted, suddenly wanting to get this conversation over with. “I know you have questions.”</p>
<p>“You’re a dragon,” Gajeel said very obviously, and very skeptically. “But you’re a dragon slayer.”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!”</p>
<p>“Quiet!” he hissed, glancing at Rogue and thinking of Wendy. Gajeel snapped his mouth shut, and Acnologia bit back a groan. Maybe he should have waited for this after all.</p>
<p>“Look,” he started again. “Both are true. I am a dragon slayer, but I am a dragon now too. All you need to know is that a series of unfortunate events led me here, and that I will explain it in due time, but now is <em>not</em> that time.” He could hear that Wendy was returning now, and he stole another glance at Rogue. It was hard to decipher before, but he certainly looked pale regardless of the dim cave light. Everything had happened quickly, but he couldn’t resolutely say that he looked well when they first found him. Damn. He should have noticed before he let the kid remember—knowing that while harmless, the experience wasn’t pleasant—but at the time, he had been focused on leaving the city and any potential pursuers.</p>
<p>“You think somethin’ is wrong with him, don’t you?”</p>
<p>So, there <em>was</em> a braincell or two rattling around that iron skull. He was going to be a handful for sure, with his penchant for asking both stupid and targeting questions, but Acnologia found him to be sincere despite his paranoia.</p>
<p>“He doesn’t smell right. He might have a cold, but I’m not sure.”</p>
<p>“Aren’t you supposed to be a trained doctor or something?” Gajeel asked accusingly.</p>
<p>“<em>Yes</em>,” he bit out, “But she didn’t tell me what illnesses <em>smelled </em>like. And that doesn’t even cover the fact that dragon slayer biology is different, and that that magic didn’t even exist at the time. I’m just going to watch him and give him some tea for now. When he wakes up.”</p>
<p>Gajeel furrowed his brow but said nothing else. For as dense as that kid seemed, he did seem to genuinely care about the other dragon slayers—at least the two with them. He remembered Wendy’s story of the two older ones always fighting, and now he was forced to acknowledge that he would need to deal with those two directly. Eventually.</p>
<p>Not now. Now, he needed to focus on Rogue and whatever could be wrong with him, and then he would be faced with finding a way to blend the new pair into his rapidly changing life.</p>
<p>Not for the first time, and not for the last, he wondered what the hell he was doing.</p>
<p>“I found it!” Wendy called, running into the room. “This is it, right?”</p>
<p>He accepted the bundle and patted her head, the gesture reflexive and her smile the same. “Perfect.” He was glad that he had started to teach her about his various herbs. It had been a product of her always wanting to watch him, and his own paranoia that the kid would eat something she shouldn’t. However, with her having healing magic as well, learning medicine would never hurt. In fact, it would make her an even more effective healer, because even sky magic had limits.</p>
<p>Acnologia walked over to the fire pit and flicked a <em>particle ray </em>at the tinder. While not fire itself, the condensed energy provided the spark, and with a small wave of <em>air whirl</em>, a fire was roaring in the matter of seconds. He blamed dragon instinct on the flicker of pride that he gained at Gajeel trying very hard not to look impressed. It was fascinating how easily amazed younglings were in the face of new magic. Perhaps it was that wonder that made its practice so prolific, despite its horrors.</p>
<p>The kettle was one of the few cooking tools he actively used, so it was already on hand. He set the tea on the fire and waited.</p>
<p>Whether she read the room or noticed Rogue, Wendy quickly caught on to the tension. She was gripping the hem of his shirt, her other fist near her mouth in a nervous habit to chew her knuckle. “Ac-nii?”</p>
<p>He ignored the short chortle from Gajeel. He wouldn’t be laughing when the girl inevitably found an equally embarrassing nickname for him, too.</p>
<p>“He should be fine,” he tried to assure. Acnologia wasn’t a comforter by nature, so he wasn’t sure if it was successful. While he lacked certainty regarding Rogue’s condition, it wasn’t as serious as it could be—he was still breathing steadily, and his body temperature wasn’t <em>too </em>far off kilter. He just didn’t know the cause yet.</p>
<p>Still, Wendy believed him, the sweet child. “Can I help?”</p>
<p>Wendy <em>was </em>a user of sky magic, the height of enchantment and healing magic, but he had never seen her heal. They ran through some magic warm-ups, but she was <em>six</em> so he never asked for a full demonstration. Though he didn’t doubt Grandeeny’s teaching skills, he wasn’t going to test her abilities on another child. “Not right now, but I’ll let you know. Just…go feed your cat for now.”</p>
<p>“Okay!” She skipped away, scooping a protesting Charle up in the process.</p>
<p>“Is… that a talking cat?” Gajeel asked.</p>
<p>“Yes. And no, I have no idea why.”</p>
<p>“Alright then.”</p>
<p>The tea finished and Acnologia considered whether or not to wake him up but decided to leave him be for another hour or so. <em>“Sleep is the best cure,” </em>Doctor Kathryn would always say. He seemed stable, too, though it was still concerning. He set the tea back on the low flame to keep it warm.</p>
<p>He contented himself to wait, mind set to go find one of his medical books again just for the refresher, but when he got tired of feeling the furrowed stare into his back, he turned to Gajeel with a loud sigh. “If you think any harder, you’re going to break the few brain cells you have.”</p>
<p>Acnologia <em>really </em>did not want to continue this conversation now—or ever—but he got the distinct feeling it would be impossible to stave off for the rest of the day, much less a week or two. Teenagers were such meddlesome brats. He was glad that there were only two of them, apparently.</p>
<p>“You’re from the same shit-hole I was,” he began slowly. “But you didn’t get sent to the future with us.”</p>
<p>“That would be correct.”</p>
<p>“THAT’S A HELLUVA MORE CONFUSING!”</p>
<p>“Inside voice, please.”</p>
<p>Gajeel growled. “You’re hiding something,” he accused, very accurately.</p>
<p>“That is also correct. Good job.”</p>
<p>The kid looked like he was about to bust an artery. Frankly, it was hilarious, but as much amusement as he was gleaning from this gods-awful conversation, perhaps he should be as direct as the iron-head wanted. He could respect that.</p>
<p>“I was alive the whole time. I’m over four hundred years old.”</p>
<p>“How the hell—?”</p>
<p>“Dragons live a long time.”</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence, far tenser than the usual quiet he preferred. Gajeel wasn’t an idiot, but he also wasn’t the sharpest piece of iron yet; it took him a moment to slide the pieces together. “Is that why you smell so weird?” he finally asked, much to his surprise.</p>
<p>One’s own scent was a hard thing to ascertain, especially when it was the one scent a creature became most complacent to. However, thinking about it the usual difference between man, dragon slayer, and dragon, he must really smell like a freak. Good to know.</p>
<p>He couldn’t help the laugh that barked out. “Yeah, I guess so. I was a human that turned into a dragon, so you do the math—wait, don’t, you might hurt yourself.” The scowl on the kid’s face was so worth it.</p>
<p>“Look,” Acnologia sighed. “Magic is strange, and there’s consequences to actions that can’t be fathomed. I will tell you—all of you—the full story one day but wait until we find the other two. I… I only want to relive it once.”</p>
<p>For all his stubbornness, this quieted Gajeel. “Okay. Fine. That’s fair.”</p>
<p>Acnologia released an exhale he didn’t know he was holding.</p>
<p>Those kids could live in blissful ignorance for a while longer. They deserved it.</p>
<p>—o0o—</p>
<p>It was another hour or two before Rogue woke up, though he was groggy and clammy when he did so. However, his initial grogginess fled instantly upon waking up in a foreign location.</p>
<p>“Hey!” He didn’t know Gajeel was still paying attention, but the teen was near Rogue in an instant. “Don’t freak out, squirt. Yer’ with us, remember?”</p>
<p>The small boy relaxed. “O-oh, right.”</p>
<p>“How are you feeling?” Acnologia asked, eyeing him warily.</p>
<p>“Fine.”</p>
<p>The reply was immediate and a bold-faced lie, although to his credit, he didn’t think the boy did it consciously. However, the frosty sweat and hoarse voice told him enough. He had never seen a dragon nor a dragon slayer get a cold before, though most of the other slayers he knew back in the war had only been in passing. Still, he knew firsthand that their immune systems were closer to a dragon’s than a human’s, and dragons had immune systems of steel.</p>
<p>But this was still only a child, and from what little he knew, he didn’t have high opinions of the place he came from.</p>
<p>Acnologia handed him a cup of the tea. “Drink. If you stomach that, I’ll make soup later.”</p>
<p>Rogue drank obediently, and Acnologia considered his options. He had plenty of bone broth, which would be a good start, but he and Wendy had mostly been eating deer, and venison would be too tough on his stomach at this point. It was a shame that he never bothered to grow root-plants like carrots or even potatoes but tending to that much dirt in the rocky abode would be such a hassle.</p>
<p>Ugh, he was going to need to go into town, wasn’t he? He was working on a better food supply, because his diet as a dragon was different from the needs of younglings, dragon slayer or not.</p>
<p>He also needed to work on those sleeping arrangements.</p>
<p>Maybe he should make a new wing of the cave…</p>
<p>He sniffed the air, considering the new residents. It was summer now, and both he and Wendy were air-type mages and resistant to most weather, but he recognized that this was not a suitable environment for everyone. (He forgot how squishy humans were, sometimes.) He had been in the cave for so long, first as a sad wanderer and then as a self-aware misanthrope. Kids were never considered in this endeavor. Or in <em>any </em>endeavor.</p>
<p>While Acnologia contemplated his life decisions, Rogue finished the tea, and upon realizing that no one would stop him, wrapped himself in the furs. He gave him some broth but held off on a full serving when he could hear the displeased gurgle of the kid’s stomach. Rogue was a skinny kid, and probably not well-fed, but that wouldn’t normally correlate to the rasp in his lungs.</p>
<p>There was a chance that this would pass on its own, given it was a light matter. Acnologia would be careful all the same.</p>
<p>—o0o—</p>
<p>It had been a couple of days, and while Rogue was more comfortable in the new location, his condition remained unchanged.</p>
<p>At this point, he was certain that it was a cold, albeit one worsened by the effects of poor physical health. Acnologia’s own magic would only help to clear the infection, not guard against it or strengthen his body. He needed a medicinal blend for that, but he didn’t have the means to make one. Even if he had all of the ingredients, he didn’t have imbuement vials on hand.</p>
<p>All roads led to one solution, and he dreaded it more than the fact that Wendy and Gajeel were going to attempt remodeling in his absence.</p>
<p>She was going to kill him.</p>
<p>—o0o—</p>
<p>“I don’t normally ask questions, but you <em>are </em>going to tell me what a beast like you wants with a child’s dose of cold medicine.”</p>
<p>Acnologia rubbed his head absently, picking a few pieces of straw out of his hair. Hag had amazing aim, that was for sure… Not that he expected anything less for waking the woman up in the middle of the night with strange requests. “Because a kid has a cold,” he answered simply.</p>
<p>It didn’t work, and Porlyusica was not satisfied. Her face twisted into a suspicious scowl. “I know you’ve been uncharacteristically altruistic lately, but surely you haven’t done anything foolish.” It was more of a threat than a statement, but he supposed he deserved that.</p>
<p>If it were anyone else, he would have avoided the issue or merely left. His private affairs were just that—<em>private</em>—and humans had a penchant for trying to meddle in affairs that they had no business with but claim to be experts at. However, the medicine woman was the closest thing Acnologia had to an acquaintance since… since a long time, and she was reasonable in most things, though typically angry. It was hard to admit when he needed help, but it was equally so for her. Porlyusica’s ire might be insurmountable, but there were worst people to confide in.</p>
<p>“I found another dragon slayer,” he started. “Three, actually.” Acnologia warily met her austere gaze. “Two six-year-olds and a thirteen-year-old.”</p>
<p>To her credit, Porlyusica was always good at keeping her expression tight, but the negative reaction was clear. “Gods, more lacrimas?”</p>
<p>“No. They were trained by dragons. Four hundred years ago.”</p>
<p>She didn’t say anything at first; they just continued their staring matched until her sinking eyebrows finally collided. “You’re serious.”</p>
<p>“Why on earth would I make that up?”</p>
<p>Porlyusica sighed wearily. “Why are dragons so damn <em>complicated</em>,” she muttered. “Almost as bad as humans.”</p>
<p>“I guess that’s why dragon slayers are twice as bad then—hey!” He caught the handle of the broom before it collided into his face javelin-style. Fine, he’ll shut up now; Acnologia had worsened her already foul mood with heavy knowledge. It was to be expected.</p>
<p>She stood to the side, pensive for some time. Acnologia had grown accustomed to waiting, and patience was easier in silence.</p>
<p>He didn’t need to see the sharp grimace on her face to know that the first thing out of her mouth would be an accusation. “You’re keeping them in that awful cave of yours, aren’t you?!”</p>
<p>There it was. “You make it sound like I kidnapped them. Which I <em>didn’t</em>. Mostly…”</p>
<p>“Give me back my broom you overgrown lizard so I can <em>teach you a thing or two!</em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a full assault, she calmed down considerably. It also helped when he added more of the story, because as much as neither of them appreciated small talk, he conceded that a fuller picture was necessary in such an outlandish situation. He pared down the details, not bothering to share specifics as to people or places, or even Zeref’s involvement. He kept it largely in the present: a girl in the care of ghosts, an angry teen getting mixed up with rough crowds, and a boy in an abusive orphanage—all ‘generation-one’ dragon slayers with partial amnesia and resulting abandonment issues. Eventually Porlyusica had to concede to his predicament, even if she was still understandably upset.</p>
<p>“I still don’t like this,” she grumbled. “But I see your concern, especially with this new fascination with dragon lacrimas in this world.”</p>
<p>This world? She talked of Edolas scarcely, so he knew next to nothing, but if that world had seen similar habits, it was no wonder she was soft to the issue. Although truth be told, Acnologia always assumed that there were no dragons where she was from, considering her biology.</p>
<p>Not that he cared. Her business was her own, though he was curious if she had any insight, one of these days.</p>
<p>“It’s not like this was my plan, or anything,” Acnologia muttered, the sentiment painfully true. “I know I’m not cut out for it.”</p>
<p>“No, you’re not,” Porlyusica agreed easily. “But who ever is?”</p>
<p><em>Normal people</em>, he thought sourly, <em>who were never rampaging murderers. </em>But Porlyusica dropped the subject and busied herself at her workstation.</p>
<p>She never once brought up the possibility of finding another home for those three, which was as terrifying as the prospect of her refusing, or even worse, agreeing. Acnologia had started this endeavor with the mindset that it was temporary, and a part of him still believed that. The other part of him had busied himself in planning for better living arrangements for the children, and for caring for them.</p>
<p>What a sad, foolish beast he was.</p>
<p>“It’s done,” Porlyusica announced.</p>
<p>Acnologia nodded in gratitude, taking the flask. He brought a spatial satchel along for this reason, lest he affect the enchantment of the medicine with his transformation. He inserted the medicine inside, and with an activation of the item, the contents vanished, reappearing safely inside the cave where he set the pylon.</p>
<p>As he turned to leave, Porlyusica stopped him. “One more thing. The girl—you said her name was Wendy, correct?”</p>
<p>He regarded her quizzically. “Yes.”</p>
<p>“Hmph. Of course. Did you suppose to ever tell me that her teacher was this world’s Grandeeny?”</p>
<p>Porlyusica’s wits were terrifyingly immense, but this surprised even him. “How did you know?”</p>
<p>Porlyusica retrieved a tome and handed it to him. “She contacted me about a year ago, very briefly. Telepathically. She had me write down a number of spells and asked that if I ever came across Wendy, her daughter, that I would give these to her. I imagine that she was unable to do it herself, but reached out to me in a slim chance that I would ever come across the girl. I suppose there’s some luck in the world after all.”</p>
<p>“Grandeeny contacted you? Within the last year?” Acnologia frowned. “Could she have sent the message through the gate…?”</p>
<p>“How am I supposed to know? Now, if you’re going to look after that girl, keep those safe. They’re complex spells though, so do <em>not </em>teach a six-year-old those, you hear?”</p>
<p>Peaking at the tome, he was inclined to agree. This was why he was not a sky mage. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He wasn’t sure if he should tell her at all, for now. While it was material proof that Grandeeny didn’t completely abandon her, it came with no explanation as to where she went. When she was older, he decided.</p>
<p>“And get those kids out of that damned cave of yours!” she yelled at his back. “Get a proper home, already!”</p>
<p>Acnologia raised a hand in acknowledgement. “I’ll work on it.”</p>
<p>He had allowed Gajeel and Wendy to go into town with an allowance to get some furnishings, but he was aware that it was not a perfect solution. Acnologia also had not forgotten his resolve to set them amongst their own kind. They needed a better grasp at their humanity to face what was to come, and he was sure that he could not provide that.</p>
<p>Maybe he should take a page from Porlyusica’s book and get a cabin on the outskirts of a town—far away from people but near enough for contact. The question was where. While he was fond of his cave, the Woodworth Sea below was dense with malignant magic. The humans avoided it for a reason, and he grew to avoid it as well. Judging by the Nirvit ghost, it was likely haunted by ghoulish magic. The mountains were high enough and pure enough to remain unbothered. There was the town situated far enough from the woods to be affected, but it was too small to enter unnoticed. He wasn’t suited for the small-town life, because everyone knew each other and wanted to do shit like <em>talk </em>all the time.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, he wasn’t familiar with many other places. He avoided towns on principle. The most he knew that was current was what he had gathered in tracking the other slayer children, and most of those places had failed to impress him. Perhaps he should just ask the kids what they knew. Gajeel, at least, might be more geographically conscious.</p>
<p>For now, he was done here. He should get back soon, to administer Rogue his medicine and ensure that nothing was irreversibly damaged in his absence.</p>
<p>Acnologia reached his usual take-off place, a clearing big enough for him to transform and launch without obvious carnage. However, his senses told him that the area was not clear of life.</p>
<p><em>“Lisanna! Happy! Wait up!”</em> a distant voice cried. A small chorus of giggling ensued.</p>
<p>It was not the fact that children were traipsing through the forest in the middle of the night that gave Acnologia pause. No, it was the sheer luck of fate.</p>
<p>The smoky tinge to one of the scents was unmistakable:</p>
<p>
  <em>Fire dragon slayer magic.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ohohoho, I wonder who that could be? Hmmmmm.... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)</p>
<p>And I end up doodling and decided to draw a non-gremlin Acnologia, the one that we will be seeing a lot later in this series. Here's a little sneaky-peak:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  </p>
<p>(Why did I decide to draw toes?! Why?!?! <s>Because this barefoot monster would never stoop to closed toe shoes that's why</s>)</p>
<p>There's another surprise coming up in the next few days, so stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Inner Demons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia confronts Natsu in the woods.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Haha, whoops, I meant to get this posted sooner but.... Um, Genshin Impact is super distracting. Anywho. Enjoy!</p><p>Oh, and the extra chapter I posted in the one-shot / side stories collection would happen mostly synchronously with this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It’s not rational. But then, terror never is. Terror is something that chews you up and spits you out, leaving you strung out and wrong.”</p><p>—<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackFriar/pseuds/BlackFriar">BlackFriar</a>, <em>Caged Birds Don’t Sing</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>The beast laughed, his skin burning from the blood he was coated in, his senses marred by the corpses beneath him. He was a living being embraced by Death, and it was thrilling.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I am the king now,” the beast had declared. “And I sentence every one of you to <strong>death.</strong>”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Another living one entered his world, and it infuriated him so. “A king is only named when another king is felled.” He rose to his full height, the fire burning hotter than the blood on his skin. “I still stand.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The beast only felt elation in the presence of the Fire King. Such a magnificent creature, and he longed to see it dead as his feet. “Not for much longer.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The smell was so visceral, Acnologia momentarily lost himself in a memory forgotten by everything but his senses and his guilt. It was inescapable. The pleasant atmosphere of the forest was instantly replaced by the stench of burning corpses.</p><p>There was only one thing that remained present in both instances: the scent of Igneel.</p><p>Acnologia <em>knew</em>, deep down and absolutely, of the atrocities that he had committed, starting at the Dragon King’s Festival, but he had forgotten the specifics—no, he had not wanted to remember. Even now, the phantom taste of dragon blood on his glands made his mouth water in muscle memory.</p><p>He promptly vomited onto the nearest bush.</p><p>Somehow, whether by chance or self-delusion, Acnologia had convinced himself that he did not know the whereabouts of Grandeeny and the other more prominent members of the co-habitation side. He was not so delusional to believe that he did not kill allies in his rage, but he fooled himself to thinking that he had not killed the leading proponents, the ones he actually interacted with and who were responsible for making him a dragon slayer in the first place.</p><p>No, he might not have killed them, but he remembered the vicious battle. Acnologia still couldn’t visualize the details perfectly, but they had tried to stop him, and he turned his rage against him.</p><p>It was Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons, that rose up to face him head-on.</p><p>What scared him the most wasn’t that it happened at all, nor the realization of how viciously the two fought—no, it was the fact that he still couldn’t remember who had won.</p><p>Of course, the outcome couldn’t have been that catastrophic if Igneel really was involved with this child. The accounts of the others had alluded that the dragons had seen them off in the end, at least, which beckoned that they were alive.</p><p>(Unless he killed them <em>afterwards</em>.)</p><p>No, <em>no</em>, he needed to focus. He couldn’t play these self-deprecating guessing games with himself, no matter how much he deserved it. Not when there were kids out there in this mess. (<em>His fault.</em>) Acnologia had plenty of time to blame himself, so he could spare the present.</p><p>He focused on the lingering taste of bile to ground himself.</p><p>Unfortunately, the kid was in a different place when he came back to his proper mind. He had been running, so it wasn’t surprising, but it was annoying to track with his senses muddled. Certainly not impossible, however, because dragon slayer magic was stronger and the scent of Igneel (<em>don’t hurl again, don’t hurl—</em>) was even stronger.</p><p>Acnologia followed the trail absently, still distracted by his own mind. No amount of regret could satiate the betrayal he committed against Igneel and the co-habitation dragons. He was a terrible excuse for a sentient creature, and whatever hatred their ghosts harbored towards him, he deserved. Worse, though, was the shred of resentment he still harbored for the Fire King. Whether it was because of their battle, or because he had also failed to recognize the magic at play—which was hypocritical of him, for sure—was hard to tell. Perhaps, helping his child would bring some closure, even though Acnologia was still a poor choice, in the scheme of things.</p><p>Even in his half-hearted attempt, the boy was ridiculously easy to find. He had the presence of a bull and the scent of a flaming building, neither of which were known to be inconspicuous. When he came into sight, his pink hair and red attire merely served as the flashing light to the beacon that was already lit.</p><p>“Stupid Lisanna,” the child muttered to himself. “Running away with Happy.” The boy ambled in the opposite direction of Magnolia, turning himself around occasionally. “I’m not lost!” he shouted, every frustration voiced aloud.</p><p>“Look lost to me.”</p><p>The boy jumped high enough to hit the branch above him, eliciting yet another yelp. Tiredly, Acnologia wondered how a dragon slayer—even a young one—didn’t notice him coming when there was nothing else around. This one was older, too, like Gajeel. Ah, it must be the one he was always fighting with.</p><p>“Who are you?!” he screeched, hands curling into fists as he took an unbalanced stance. “Fight me!”</p><p>Was this kid for real? He ignored the challenge in favor of the question. If the fire attribute wasn’t indicative of the little slayer’s tutelage, then the scarf certainly was. Dragon scales were potent, and never lost their scent, making shedding a private affair for most dragons; the scarf, discolored now, was clearly knit solely out of Igneel’s scales. A gift, probably, just as the studs in Gajeel’s ears were made of Metallicana’s metal.</p><p>If Igneel had told the child about him, the reaction would be poor. None of the other children had known, however, though the time spent with their dragons had been the only memories still clear. The boy seemed as pugnacious as Gajeel had been, so he elected to go with the safer route for now.</p><p>“Call me Acno,” he decided, resigned. Gajeel, and once Rogue, had quickly started to call him that in lieu of Wendy’s more embarrassing variant. Even though the teen was more than capable of pronouncing ‘Acnologia,’ he secretly enjoyed the nickname. It felt more…personal. Less borrowed. (Less stolen.)</p><p>The boy stared dumbly, still ready to fight.</p><p>“And I assume you’re…Natsu?”</p><p>“How do you know my name?! YOU WANNA FIGHT?!”</p><p>Suddenly, he could vividly imagine how Gajeel and Natsu would get into fights that not even dragons could prevent. These two were going to test his aging process, he could feel it.</p><p>“No, I’m not going to fight you.” Acnologia stifled a deep sigh, forcing himself not to try and visualize anything of the sort. Everything was still too raw for him to think straight.</p><p>As for the rest, Acnologia had learned his lesson with the others: it was not easy to remember years all at once. Rogue and Wendy had a rougher time of it, most likely because they were young, and their memory was in flux anyway. Gajeel had no physical consequence other than a moment of spaced-out silence, but emotionally, it was a lot to handle with no warning. Natsu seemed to be Gajeel’s age, though he was smaller, but that just meant there was more opportunity for trauma.</p><p>Dragons slayers were just fated to be tragedies, it would seem.</p><p>He determined to ease this boy into it. Give him time to prepare, because while the woods in the middle of the night was private, it wasn’t a comfortable place. “I know you who are because I know about where you come from. Now, before you get excited, maybe we can meet somewhere else later. It’s not the type of conversation to have lightly—”</p><p>Natsu ceased to listen somewhere in the middle of his carefully composed response. “My past? Do you know Igneel?! Where is he?! Where did Igneel go?”</p><p><em>The last time I saw Igneel, we were trying to rip each other’s throats out. </em>Acnologia swallowed bile and memory alike. “I know him.” It was harder to be neutral here than it had been with Wendy. “But—”</p><p>“Really?!” Natsu had the same unbridled adoration in his eyes as the six-year-old did. There was nothing but hope in his expression—he didn’t have the same pessimistic outlook Gajeel had had. “Where is he?!”</p><p>“I was <em>getting to that.” </em>Acnologia held a hand to his head to brace himself. “I don’t know.” Was that a lie? He hoped it wasn’t.</p><p>“Then why did you say you knew where he was?!”</p><p>“I never said that! I said I knew <em>who </em>he was. There’s a difference.” Why was it that the older ones were dumber? Wendy and Rogue handled this better, bless them.</p><p>Natsu still looked confused, but he was going to give the kid the benefit of the doubt, because it was very late and past his bedtime. Why the hell was a kid out in the middle of the woods by himself anyway? It had sounded like he was with others earlier, but there was no sign of them now, and Acnologia still didn’t know how much time had passed since then. Panic attacks were so damn inconvenient.</p><p>“I don’t know where he is now,” he reiterated slowly. “But I have information about your past that you have forgotten. It will be a lot to take in, so take your time and—”</p><p>“About my past?” Natsu interrupted. “About Igneel? I wouldn’t have forgotten anything about Igneel! Tell me what you mean!”</p><p>These past few months, and more-so these past few minutes, were quickly teaching him that living for centuries did not automatically grant patience. Acnologia took a long inhale through the nose and tried to let the ether intake calm him. It was…partially successful.</p><p>“I’m <em>trying </em>to tell you that there are holes in your memory. I will help you remember, but it’s a lot to take in. I can come back later, if you want.” Unless he was in a sticky situation like Rogue had been, then scheduling would be difficult. Actually, with this kid being in the woods in the middle of the night, Acnologia would guess negligence—or, he was playing adult, like Gajeel had been. “Or just take a moment. I know it looks strange, but I’m here to help you.” <em>Whether you like it not.</em></p><p>Natsu, for his credit, made a valiant attempt to wrap his head around the situation. He stood there with his brows creased and unconsciously began to press his nose into his scarf.</p><p>Then the belligerence returned, a fire in his eyes indicative of his element and his stubbornness. “I wanna know!” The cry came out like a challenge, but it was desperate, too. “I can’t forget anything about Igneel! Tell me what you’re talking about!”</p><p>Well, the exchange was willing, now. Acnologia felt bad about shoving it down Gajeel’s throat, but at least some good came out of it. He was probably overreacting for no reason about this, anyway; Natsu was not guaranteed to have the same tragic past the iron slayer did. In fact, his wholesome devotion and faith in his dragon parent did not belie the same abandonment and hurt Gajeel had been harboring, though Acnologia would not be a fool as to believe that there was no pain there at all.</p><p>Hopefully, Natsu would be more cooperative once they got past this hurdle. There seemed to be people he knew around these parts, though Acnologia was doubtful as to the quality of that care. These kids had been dropped in this era a year ago, and that didn’t leave much time for acclimation—especially when they all spoke of dragons, which the general public blissfully ignored as fairy tale. At this point, he didn’t have high expectations of their new environment. After he got the full story, he would try talking to the boy again to determine his state of being.</p><p>While the general gist of their lives was a quick thing to retell, it took him a few tries until it clicked with Natsu. Probably because he was stuck on Igneel and promptly ignored any information that didn’t pertain to him—which was <em>precisely </em>what he needed to know in order to remember the rest. Whatever this door did to them jumbled their memory about everything other than dragons, and Acnologia did not have the slightest idea as to why—unless all dragon slayers had a tendency to get fixated on the creature they were enchanted with, in varying degrees of fondness or rage.</p><p>“Just try focusing on the other people involved,” Acnologia tried. It had been what started the cycle with Wendy. “Wendy, Gajeel, Rogue, Sting—hell, <em>Zeref</em>. And, uh, what was that lady’s name? Something like—”</p><p>Natsu was no longer paying attention, but this time, his eyes were not glazed over in confusion. “Zer…ef?” he whispered to himself. Whether it was because it was the last name he gave, or the most recognizable, it was the one he latched onto, his gaze distant into another time. A gaze that was glassy yet focused, his pupils narrowing and…<em>glowing red. </em></p><p>It was only now that Acnologia realized something was wrong—different. He should have noticed it sooner, but in his defense, Igneel’s scent was very distracting, and all of the children had a whiff of black magic on them. Due to some combination of these factors, he missed that Natsu smelled like <em>Zeref</em>, and not just his magic. Zeref or… No, <em>and </em>one of his demons. It was a scent that became stronger with each breath—with each memory. As if his very identity was realigning, the boy’s scent vacillated from human to demon, until it became clear to Acnologia’s experienced senses that he was both.</p><p>‘<em>Nat-nii</em> and <em>Nat-nii-nii’ </em>young Wendy called them. He had nearly forgotten in the sheer volume of unexpected information, and at the time, he dismissed it as a child’s misinformation or assumption. Now, the pieces clicked, and he wished they hadn’t.</p><p>
  <em>Shit. </em>
</p><p>Natsu clutched his head, pupils dilated nearly beyond the point of being visible as he sucked in a breath. Red claws sprouted from his fingers, and Acnologia dove down to yank them away from his skin.</p><p>The boy passed out on contact.</p><p>This was exactly what Acnologia had feared—no, it was worse. Not only did he have an extremely adverse reaction to the remembering process, but the little dragon slayer had an entire episode. Somehow, he was part human and part Etherious demon (something he blamed Zeref for entirely) on top of being a dragon slayer taught under one of the more powerful dragons. How this pipsqueak stayed sane was amazing. Although, Acnologia had the sinking suspicion that he had forgotten that he was part demon at all. It wouldn’t be impossible. There had been a time when he himself forgot he was once human.</p><p>For a brief, terrifying moment, Acnologia smelled death.</p><p>His own muddled mind was the most likely culprit, but it had been real enough and startling enough to make him kneel down and check the boy’s pulse. He was alive, though Natsu’s very breath seemed to smell like it for a moment more.</p><p>Acnologia forced himself away from the oxymoronic and spiraling thought. There were bigger priorities than his own sanity right now.</p><p>Natsu had drawn some blood on his scalp, and Acnologia cupped a hand over it and closed the wound without trouble. No amount of healing magic could wake him, however, not that he expected it to. Like with Wendy and Rogue, he couldn’t handle the strain of rushing memories while conscious, though he suspected it had less to do with physical ability in Natsu’s case.</p><p>He was also faced with the fact that he was alone with an unconscious child in the forest. Given time, he could take him back to Magnolia, but he had no clue as to the specifics. There was also the matter of ‘if.’ Acnologia didn’t know what conditions he was being raised in, and even if they weren’t half bad, the kid had demon claws extending from each hand.</p><p>Demons were a reclusive race, rarely seen outside of their realms. Especially not since the time dragons ruled. They were masters of black magics and other things generally despised by humans. The few skirmishes that would occur over the eras tended to deepen the bad blood between them. Humans, in particular, have developed a strong and irrational fear of the night creatures, any crushing unease once felt towards dragons and gods now placed solely on the race that remained known.</p><p>Zeref’s demons did nothing to help, though they didn’t tend to get directly involved with humans outside of their attempts to kill him, or whatever. A few had gotten restless as of late, though Acnologia didn’t bother to keep track of them out of his strong desire to not get involved with Zeref’s business. (Something he was now resigned to seeing as impossible.)</p><p>Acnologia doubted that Natsu would wake up and start attacking anything that moved, his initial pugnaciousness aside. Even as an Etherious, he was still human, and also a child. Furthermore, if he was one of Zeref’s more murder-y demons, Igneel would not have put up with it. The Flame King loved humans far too much to condone senseless violence.</p><p>The townspeople would have no way of knowing any of this, only that there was something inhuman about the boy, and that that was something to be feared.</p><p>If Natsu had a home or companions, Acnologia would figure it out later. He wouldn’t leave Natsu here in a fragile state, and he also had the feeling that there would be another episode when the boy awakened. It was the least Acnologia could do to make sure he was on good footing. In fact, he found that he enjoyed the company of the little slayers, sad as their existence was; it gave Acnologia a purpose to his life, something he hadn’t had in a long time.</p><p>He scooped the boy into his arms and found his clearing. Careful not to hurt him, Acnologia transformed and flew off to the cave with the fire dragon slayer in his palm.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“Li— Li-saaaa-naaaa!”</p><p>The girl in question halted her humming and turned her attention towards the window of the dorm that she and Mira-nee shared. Despite being on the second floor of Fairy Hills, a blue figure slammed into the glass.</p><p>Lisanna hastily opened the window, and Happy tumbled to the floor. The poor kitty looked up with tears and snot on his face, and she cuddled him on instinct.</p><p>“Na—Na—Nat-su ne—<em>hic</em>—never came home,” Happy wailed into her chest.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“I-I woke u-up and he wasn’t there!”</p><p>Lisanna remembered their race last night, with her and Happy pulling ahead and knowing Natsu was behind them. Natsu was really fast by himself, although he couldn’t fly like them. While she had won the race, she had no doubt that her best friend had been a fiery third place. She also didn’t doubt that Happy fell asleep as soon as he reached the little home that he and Natsu were building; kittens needed a lot of sleep.</p><p>“I’m sure he just got impatient and went to the guild,” Lisanna giggled. “We can go meet him there.”</p><p>Happy still sniffled into her stomach, although he was slowing down. “B-but…we were going to sh-share break-fast…”</p><p>Lisanna paused mid pet. Natsu…skipped out on food? That wasn’t like him at all! She worried her lip as she considered the possible causes—all of them were unpleasant. He was either feeling ill or very sad for him to miss a meal—especially a special one with a friend!</p><p>“We’ll go find him,” she promised. Even when Natsu ran off by himself, he never <em>really </em>wanted to be alone. The silly boy just never knew how to ask.</p><p>
  <em>We’ll always come for you, Natsu. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, I know Natsu never remembered based off of Zeref before, though he did have a slight reaction the first time they met in this era. However, as this is a younger Natsu, one who hasn't heard a lot about Zeref and the modern preconception of him, I'm banking on that familial connection here. As for the whole "demon seed" fiasco, while Natsu is indeed having a bad time remembering he's a demon, I don't think it'll be as...drastic as cannon. Honestly, that didn't entirely make sense to me, unless you consider Dragon's Cry, in which Natsu would have been struggling with his inner image for longer.... Anyway. </p><p>Poor Natsu.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Embers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Natsu faces his new-found knowledge.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Call her briar long enough<br/>And you'll tangle up the true and the fable</em>
  <em>”</em>
</p><p>—The Oh Hellos, “Rose”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>There was myth, both during their time and after, that dragons did not feel fear. They were a race of proud creatures to be sure, and fear was not something they gave into easily, but it was not impossible.</p><p>No less difficult to admit, however.</p><p>If Igneel was honest with himself, he would have known that it was fear that drove him to swearing off intervention as soon as the <em>dragon soul technique</em> spell was complete. His position, injured and brought to shame by that dreaded monster and then reduced to a bodiless phantom to save his son’s life, was not a position of action. If pressed, he could try to communicate with Natsu, but even that wasn’t guaranteed. And Igneel would not give Natsu false hope; there was nothing crueler.</p><p>He could sense Natsu’s surroundings, and given the effort, he could even see through his eyes. Igneel allowed himself the luxury, very briefly, to ensure Natsu’s wellbeing after the jump. He didn’t want to see anything after. It would invade Natsu’s independence—something he desperately needed—and worse, it would crack Igneel’s resolve to let the boy grow on his own.</p><p>Igneel did, however, note, that whether from the <em>dragon soul technique </em>or the Eclipse Gate, Natsu’s memories became muddled and incomplete. It was, dare he say, rather convenient. Natsu was no longer conflicted by his state of being, and he was independent of his brother. His demon seed dwindled as a result, so it was easier to focus on the dragon seed for now. It would need to be addressed later, but it could be handled at a suitable time.</p><p>Igneel had come to realize that he had placed a lot of faith in there being a suitable time when they were prepared.</p><p>What a fool he was.</p><p>It all happened at once. Igneel had been lying dormant in the recesses of Natsu’s mind, allowing his presence to counteract the dragon seed, when Natsu’s subconscious spiked. It wasn’t the first time something of this nature had happened; so long as he was alive, Igneel simply did not interfere or pry. However, the blocked off parts of his mind began to crumble, and the demon seed rose back up to prominence.</p><p>So Natsu remembered, then—or at least, he was beginning to. The process was slower than it should have been, but his mind tried to reassimilate the memory of his death and his body hadn’t been able to take it. It was instinct, Igneel would say, rather than conscious decision, that led him to lending the boy his strength, lest the memory fool his body into believing itself dead. But Igneel wouldn’t regret that one.</p><p>It was soon after that danger passed that the situation went from bad to worse. Even inside Natsu, Igneel could sense things of his own accord. It wasn’t the sensitivity he usually boasted, and he ignored it most of the time in favor of his vow against interference: there was one, and only one, exception.</p><p><em>Acnologia</em>.</p><p>And it was unmistakably Acnologia he sensed now, that wretched black dragon that nearly beat him and succeeded in tearing their cause to shreds. Igneel felt his rage stir and tremble at the mere thought. He had no qualms about warring the other dragons for noble cause, but genocide was never his intention. Acnologia was a beast, neither man nor proper dragon, and if there was one more thing Igneel could do with the mere remnant of his life that would remain after Natsu’s seed was repressed, killing Acnologia would be more than enough.</p><p>There was nothing Igneel could do this soon, however. He was too weak, and he would be damning Natsu. But that monster was near his son—<em>had </em>him—and the cold fear that permeated him amongst the rage was enough to fuel him and to freeze him in his tracks all at once.</p><p>His greatest enemy was here and there was nothing he could do.</p><p>
  <em>Igneel.</em>
</p><p>He had to do something.</p><p>“<em>Igneel!” </em></p><p>The voice pierced the veil he was trapped in and dragged him to a new place. Three presences joined his own, and the familiar consciousnesses coalesced around him.</p><p>Grandeeny sat on a visage of a cloud and frowned at him. Beside her were Skiadrum and Metallicana. He had been so focused and overwhelmed by Acnologia, that he hadn’t noticed that his comrades—and their dragon slayers—were so close as well.</p><p>This didn’t bode well for those children, but with all of them together, they had a chance, perhaps. “Acnologia,” Igneel growled. “We have to stop him—”</p><p>“No,” Grandeeny interrupted. “I believe…you’re mistaken.”</p><p>That icy feeling mixed into the flames of his chest. “…<em>what?”</em></p><p>The sky dragoness did not appear unhinged, but rather pensive. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I do not believe Acnologia poses a threat, anymore.”</p><p>Igneel swung to his gaze from Grandeeny to Skiadrum and Metallicana, and while the latter two appear uncomfortable, none offered answer to their madness. “Have you lost your minds?!” he roared, claws itching to tear into something. “He’s the reason we were driven to this! And now he’s near our <em>children</em>—!”</p><p>“Wendy has been with him for over a month now.”</p><p>Igneel froze mid-tirade.</p><p>“She had been under the care of some Nirvit ghost, before. While not ideal, she was safe, so I was content,” Grandeeny continued, tail folding around herself as her story unfolded. “Then Acnologia came. Actually, I think I sensed him many times before, from afar, but I hadn’t the power to confirm it. This time, he approached her, and I was terrified. It was all I could do to watch, because leaving would only end in both Wendy’s death and mine.</p><p>“But he never attacked her. In fact, he only took her away after being asked to, and he cared for her. I was still skeptical, of course. I thought it was some trick. That maybe he didn’t know, or he was trying to convert her. Instead, he assured her that he would help her find me if he could, and he restored her memories. In fact, the more I watched him through her eyes, the less I recognized him.</p><p>“He may be Acnologia,” Grandeeny declared, “but he’s not the same one from the Dragon King Festival.”</p><p>“It’s true,” Metallicana grumbled before Igneel could properly process the absurdity. “He sought out Gajeel only to make that brat remember what he forgot. Then he actually assured him that I hadn’t abandoned him.”</p><p>“Rogue was unwell,” Skiadrum admitted quietly. “He took him out of that awful human place, and he’s been tending to his wellbeing.”</p><p>Igneel could hardly believe it. Acnologia? Sane? There was nothing but madness in that man’s eyes when his slaughter began. He was a wild animal without sentiment, and there was no coming back from that. Only through death. “You’re all serious, aren’t you?”</p><p>“We are,” Grandeeny agreed, much to his horror.</p><p>“He could still be trying to convert them! He could be playing the long game, just to turn them into monsters, too.” Igneel knew it sounded weak. Unless those centuries were spent scheming, he doubted Acnologia was capable of such devices: only senseless destruction.</p><p>“I wasn’t sure until just now, actually,” Grandeeny continued. “I used my reserve to follow Acnologia when he left. He got medicine from my other-world counterpart, before he found your son. She may be crass, but I’ve talked to her before; they seem to know each other well, and I doubt she would put up with Acnologia if this was nothing but a farce.”</p><p>It was still too much to ascertain, much less believe. He couldn’t imagine the man that bathed in their blood being capable of that kind of change of heart, yet his old companions told the truth.</p><p>He didn’t like this. The hate he felt was too strong to dismiss, and it only strengthened his fear. He couldn’t forgive Acnologia for what he had done, and he didn’t want to. However, all of that paled in comparison to the thought of losing Natsu over something that was his fault.</p><p>Igneel still wouldn’t trust him, but unfortunately, he could do nothing but watch.</p><p>Watch and pray that maybe, Grandeeny was right.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Natsu was still out cold when he made it back to the cave, but Acnologia didn’t expect otherwise. He also didn’t expect to find the other three under a mountain of fur and blankets and pillows. He had no idea what he <em>should</em> have expected, but that never crossed his mind.</p><p>The pile that Rogue had been sleeping on was disassembled and removed, and a heap of other bedding that he didn’t previously have joined them in the monstrosity the kids must have created. To their credit, it <em>did </em>look like a proper dragon’s nest—just softer. Perfect for children, he supposed. It was clever.</p><p>Acnologia carefully laid Natsu down nearby, grabbing one of the pillows that didn’t make it inside. The fire was still going, albeit small, but he hoped it would be good for the boy. He was no doubt a fire dragon slayer, and while he himself had a rare affinity, he knew that slayers were strengthened by their element.</p><p>Satisfied that Natsu seemed to be doing better—his breathing was no longer shallow and the…<em>smell</em> was gone—Acnologia allowed himself to turn away to the others. He had to bend down to reach the opening in the tent like structure, which was merely a looser blanket to be pushed aside. As odd as the set-up was, the result was frankly endearing. All three of them were asleep inside, Gajeel sprawled out and snoring lightly, Wendy curled against his leg and using it as a pillow, Charle tucked beside her, and Rogue facedown underneath Gajeel’s draped arm.</p><p>They looked comfortable, and they looked content. Acnologia hated to disturb the image, though he was hardly sure why. Rogue needed his medicine and sleeping with his face smushed into blankets wouldn’t be the best for his sinuses, but he also needed sleep.</p><p>He resolved to leave them for the time being, pulling away from the structure. However, Gajeel’s breath hitched into a groan, and he woke up anyway. “…Acno?”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s me.” He didn’t know if Gajeel asked because he was sleepy, or if he couldn’t tell. If there was anything Acnologia would teach these fledglings, it was mastery of the senses. It was vital to a dragon, and in a world of magic, it could be the difference between life and death.</p><p>“Who’s with you—is that Natsu?” Gajeel emerged from the tent and stopped at the sight of the new boy. Good, guess he recognized him.</p><p>“Yes, it is. I ran into him on the way back, but he didn’t take the memory return well, so he passed out.”</p><p>Gajeel snorted. “Of course that flame-head couldn’t take it.”</p><p>“Hey.” Acnologia leveled a careful warning glare his way. He knew from Wendy that Gajeel and Natsu didn’t seem to have the best relationship, and while he could care less if they got along, he wasn’t going to have them tearing each other to shreds—not without good reason, at least. They were just kids. Also, Natsu was in no condition to handle any additional strain at this point. “Go easy on him. He forgot he was a demon, and I think the memory triggered the negative reaction.”</p><p>“Natsu’s a demon?!” At least it came out in a harsh whisper instead of a scream. Glad to know that Gajeel was mindful of the sleeping children.</p><p>However, Acnologia still winced. He shouldn’t have assumed that the others would be privy to this detail as well, if only because they grew up around each other. Although now that the scent was fully realized, any dragon or dragon slayer should be able to tell by smell alone, so he supposed it was futile trying to keep it a secret. Not that it necessarily needed to be a secret. From humans, yes, because they grew into paranoid beasts around sentient creatures other than themselves or maybe the gods, but Acnologia thought the stigma pointless and he wouldn’t be the one to see that perpetuated in other the dragon slayers. He had to be the reasonable adult around the impressionable children, or something like that.</p><p>“Yes,” he confirmed warily. “Half, at least.”</p><p>“Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess. He always smelled weird.” Whether it was because of his warning tone, or because Gajeel hadn’t been in this era long enough to assimilate to their beliefs fully, Gajeel didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact, which was relieving. They did know each other previously, so there was precedent to his impression. It couldn’t have been terrible, because while annoyed, Gajeel wasn’t hostile. Though Acnologia would be worried if he was acting hostile to an unconscious boy.</p><p>“Ac-nii?” a sleepy voice sounded. “You’re back.”</p><p>“Hello, Wendy.” The girl exited the tent rubbing her eyes and yawning. She didn’t wake up as easily as Gajeel, that was for sure. The activity must have been enough to disturb them, because Rogue was behind her. “Hello, Rogue.”</p><p>“Is that…?” Wendy yawned.</p><p>“Yep.”</p><p>They stood in silence, a mixture of the children’s sleepiness and all of their uncertainty. There wasn’t a good precedent for these types of situations, although there needed to be, because this was starting to happen too often. He hoped the last kid would be a simple fix.</p><p>The fire was starting to work, however. The loose tendrils of flame started to waft into his open mouth, and his nose twitched in result. His breathing changed. He was waking up.</p><p>“Give him room,” Acnologia commanded, guiding the other children farther back. This was already going to be a messy awakening, but Acnologia didn’t want to startle him into a full-blown panic attack.</p><p>Natsu groaned. “When’s….breakfast…?” he mumbled sleepily, eyelids starting to lift. Then, in a jarring moment, he must have remembered, because his eyes snapped open and he jack-knifed into a sitting position. Acnologia was glad he made everyone give Natsu the room, because the boy burst into flames while he startled.</p><p>“Where am I?! What happened?!” Natsu scrambled upwards, fists still ablaze and ready.</p><p>In terms of fight or flight, Acnologia had a suspicion that Natsu had a clear favorite reaction, as his magic was ready before the kid was even aware. This could certainly be problematic. He had hoped to let Natsu have his space when he came to, but he wouldn’t risk injury. Acnologia inhaled the flames straight off of him, ignoring how the taste was familiar. This wasn’t Igneel, and this wasn’t Zeref: it was Natsu, just a kid who was involved with both but ultimately independent of both. Acnologia could handle this.</p><p>As expected, Natsu didn’t handle having his fire eaten well, but it did snap him to the present. “Wha—? How did you do that?!” His olive eyes set themselves on Acnologia, no hint of red in them now, despite the demon shell still on his forearms. Then his gaze shifted around him. “Wait… Where are we…?”</p><p>“You passed out in the woods, so I took you to my cave until you recovered,” Acnologia explained carefully. “Do you remember what happened?”</p><p>“Nothing happened!” Natsu insisted vehemently. “You attacked me in East Forest! You…”</p><p>“Told you about your past,” Acnologia finished.</p><p>For a tense moment, he wasn’t sure if Natsu remembered any of it—that he already suppressed the new information down and convinced himself to forget. Acnologia couldn’t blame him, but it was unhealthy, and it certainly didn’t bode well for his mental capacity, to spend so much effort concealing itself. Natsu opened his mouth, a retort evident on his tongue, but slowly, the kid shut it and looked down at his shaking, clawed hands. “I…I remember…”</p><p>Shit, now the kid was on the verge of tears, practically, eyes salty and tone miserable. If Acnologia didn’t maintain his strong stance on why ignorance of oneself was dangerous, he might give in and let these sad kids go on blissfully. Though it was entirely too late now, with four of the five now together in the cave.</p><p>Still, he felt the need to apologize. “I’m sorry,” he started. “I had an idea it would be unpleasant, but I didn’t imagine anything that drastic to happen. I did try to warn you, though.” At least Natsu seemed stable now, though his demon attribute wasn’t fully balanced out yet. Acnologia couldn’t say that he was knowledgeable in hybrids, but being both dragon and human himself, he had an idea. It should be a matter of mind, which state he wanted to dwell in. If naturally occurring hybrids were different, however, then simple transformation magic might give the kid peace of mind, at least. Throughout the years, he had encountered many demons hiding themselves as human, shopping quietly at markets or merely traveling across the land. It wasn’t entirely uncommon.</p><p>Behind him, Gajeel snorted. “Flame-brain? Not listening? Who would have thought?”</p><p>It was then that Natsu finally noticed the others.</p><p>“Oh yeah Metal-face? Say that to my face again!”</p><p>“I will! Yer’ a dunce-head!”</p><p>They didn’t even have to introduce themselves again, they just started smack-talking, suddenly forehead to forehead. It would have been amazing, if it weren’t a nuisance. Luckily, he didn’t have to break it up, because Wendy beat him to it. The tiny six-year-old grabbed a hold of Natsu’s demon hand without care, pulling it gently but insistently. “Nat-nii~ Don’t fight when you’re feeling bad!”</p><p>Natsu stopped, blinking away the anger he supposedly held towards Gajeel fast enough for it to have not been real at all, Gajeel doing the same and taking a step back. “Wendy?” Natsu asked, unsure now despite not having been with the older dragon slayer. “That you?”</p><p>Wendy nodded proudly.</p><p>“Look at you! So much bigger now!” Natsu laughed, eliciting a giggle from the girl. “And Rogue? Whoa man—wait, what’s that smell?”</p><p>“He has a cold,” Acnologia supplied.</p><p>“Oh. That sucks.”</p><p>Rogue rubbed his arm, but he was smiling too. “Yeah. I’m feeling a lot better though.”</p><p>“And you’ll <em>be </em>better if you take that medicine.” Natsu seemed to be calming down in the presence of the others. The familiarity—the kind less tinged with complications—probably helped. Acnologia would give the space they needed, while taking the opportunity to give Rogue his medicine before he went back to sleep. It did its best work when the patient was inactive. “Come on, we’ll be right back.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>When he and Rogue returned, the three of them were sitting in that blanket tent. Something about it must have made it appealing to the young. Well, it certainly didn’t have competition with his bleak cave, so they had a point.</p><p>“Rogue! Ac-nii!” Wendy called. “Come join us!”</p><p>It was big, sure, but not that big. “You want me to go into the tent?”</p><p>“It’s a fort,” Rogue told him, face as serious as ever.</p><p>Acnologia raised a brow at the droopy mess of blankets. “A …fort?”</p><p>Everyone nodded. Well, if the kids called it a fort, then it was a fort, but it was a good thing it would never see battle. He hoped their conception of a fort got better when they got older. It was awkward crawling into the thing, because even as a human, he was not small in the slightest. However, if it made the kids happy, then it was okay.</p><p>Natsu was considerably calmer, although he already proved to be able to switch his emotions quickly, so it didn’t mean much, but his heartrate was more even than before. That was good.</p><p>“So,” Natsu started, “Our dragons sent us to the future?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Acnologia stared at him incredulously. For someone who did not take the remembering process well, this was too easy. Acnologia was expecting more screaming or crying. Maybe a mixture of both. “Okay? That’s all?”</p><p>Natsu shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, if Igneel did it, then he had a good reason. Besides, I like it here.”</p><p>No, there it was. Natsu was better at hiding it than even Gajeel, but the sad quiver in his voice was there all the same. His faith in Igneel was solid enough to compensate, but nothing could remove the doubt altogether. Wendy and Rogue were too young to know anything before their dragon, and for Gajeel, his past before Metallicana and the time-warp was too unpleasant to dare miss, but that may not be the case with Natsu.</p><p>Acnologia was not the type to make…personal connections…especially in the state he had been in after the real Acnologia’s rampage. He never expected anything to come out of them, whether from anger or from his sorrow; either way, it hurt. However, over four hundred years of life have given him a grasp of what it was like to see the world change, so even his reclusive self knew that the loss would impact these kids one way or another.</p><p>“It’s okay to like both, you know—the way it was and the way it is now. The people. It just means you have more to you, in your memory.”</p><p>Natsu bit his lip, but tears started to fill his eyes, nonetheless. There it was. “But… They’re all gone now,” he said miserably. “Igneel left, and Mama and Papa d-died, and nii-san… If it’s been that long, then he’s probably gone too.”</p><p>Well, it was time to address this elephant, as people would say nowadays. “Your brother…wouldn’t happen to be Zeref, would he?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Some of Natsu’s somberness left, though not all. “Wait, you know him too?”</p><p>Unfortunately. “Yes, I’m familiar with Zeref, and unless something happened in the last few decades, he’s still alive.” That little empire of his hasn’t crumbled, so Acnologia was confident the Black Wizard was still running around, causing trouble. As always.</p><p>“So, he really doesn’t die, huh?” For some reason, Natsu seemed troubled by this. “I…I didn’t listen to him the first time, but… but he told me… he told me he was cursed, but I didn’t want to…”</p><p>Cursed, huh? Made sense, though Acnologia never bothered with the specifics of why Zeref was an immortal nuisance instead of a regular one. To be honest, he always assumed that he lived by sucking the life out of other things, albeit in a very haphazard manner.</p><p>“Your brother has made his own choices,” Acnologia sighed. “If he is cursed, then it’s his problem.”</p><p>“But he’s my brother!” Natsu snapped, suddenly defensive, though there was something else in his voice—in his scent.</p><p>Acnologia peered at the boy quizzically. This was a complicated situation for certain, and while it only affirmed his contempt for these things, he knew he had to help some way. It was the least he could do. “Then why are you afraid of him?”</p><p>This was the wrong thing to say, though the reaction certainly helped moved the conversation. “I’m not scared of him!” he cried vehemently, with enough conviction that it could be believable. “It’s just… We didn’t… Um. We just didn’t uh… What’s the word? Leave on the right foot?”</p><p>“Sounds unpleasant,” Acnologia droned.</p><p>“Why does that matter?” Gajeel scoffed. “If ya’ had a fight, then you leave, right?”</p><p>“I…guess?” Natsu was back to being unsure. “It’s just… I know he saved my life, but…” He looked down at his hands, and it was then that Acnologia got a better picture of the situation. It had been odd that he seemed human and Etherious simultaneously, but this made sense. He really <em>was </em>both. How Zeref managed that one was impressive, if not disturbing.</p><p>“I know it’s not ideal,” Acnologia tried, hating the weak choice of words. “But it doesn’t change who you are. Demons aren’t the monsters people make them out to be, and you’re still human, too. It didn’t change who you were. You’re the same kid I found before you even remembered.”</p><p>“You’re a good person, Nat-nii,” Wendy insisted, like she was the ultimate authority on the matter. In her innocence, she just might be. Rogue nodded along.</p><p>“Yeah, you’ve always just been you, annoying and all,” Gajeel added, more or less helpfully. “Doesn’t matter what yer’ brother did to you.”</p><p>“But… I was mad at him, and he… I think he just saved my life, but he said all that stuff about killing him, and I…”</p><p>Of <em>course </em>he did, the bi-polar bastard. “You don’t have to listen to him,” Acnologia told him. “You can be grateful for what you’re grateful for, but you don’t have to take everything. It’s not all or nothing.” If life was like that, he would have gone mad long before meeting Acnologia.</p><p>The concept seemed confusing to the kid, but it was one that sank in in time. “Look, those matters can wait. It’s been long enough as it is. Let’s just focus on what to do now.”</p><p>“Okay.” Well, the kid could move subjects easily, that was for sure. He was still looking at his hands, however. “Um… My hands usually aren’t always like this. They weren’t when I was with Igneel.”</p><p>“It’s probably mental,” Acnologia suggested. “Try imagining them as human. You don’t have transformation magic, so it is most likely a matter of will.”</p><p>To his great surprise, Natsu picked up <em>that </em>concept rather quickly. A few minutes of him staring intensely at his hands and then, they were back to human flesh, and a triumphant smile adorned his face. “Yes! This is so cool!”</p><p>Gajeel turned his arm to metal with a smug look, and suddenly, the two were tumbling across the so-called fort. Acnologia let them be, because they didn’t seem to be doing any real harm. Rogue was falling asleep, on his knee of all places, so he couldn’t get up to do anything about it anyway.</p><p>Wendy was getting droopy eyed too, snuggling up against the blankets like she was hypnotized by them. It was very late for human standards; the kids were normally asleep by now. “Okay boys, the others are asleep. Calm down, before I use sleep magic on you.”</p><p>The warning sufficed. “Yeah, I’m beat,” Gajeel agreed. “I’ll take that corner over there.”</p><p>After Gajeel claimed his spot, Natsu looked lost. “You can sleep anywhere,” he told him. “I’m pretty sure they built this thing as a bed.”</p><p>“But I live in Magnolia.”</p><p>Right. That. Acnologia <em>did </em>take him away without his knowledge, but it felt necessary at the time. The matter should be settled now, however. “You said you like it there?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Natsu agreed enthusiastically. “I’m a Fairy Tail mage! They’re all really cool, and Gramps took me in after I landed in the woods, and I’m gonna’ be the best mage and go on all the cool jobs with Happy one day!”</p><p>“Whoa, whoa, slow down.” Shit, did he say Fairy Tail? It was one of the few human guilds he knew by name, and that was only because of Porlyusica. Okay, so while he was definitely neglected in the woods, Fairy Tail hadn’t struck him as the bad sort. Laxus seemed to be doing fine. “So you live with the guild?”</p><p>“Well, I used to sleep in the guild hall ‘cause Gramps would let me, but it’s only good for naps, so me and Happy are making our house.”</p><p>A kid? Making a house? And what the hell kind of name was <em>Happy? </em>Never mind, that was a problem for later. “You say they’re good people?”</p><p>“The best!”</p><p>“Okay.” For some reason, Acnologia wasn’t fond of the idea of relinquishing him. Maybe it was because he knew it would upset Wendy, or maybe it was because he still didn’t trust these mages with the concept of dragon slayers. Lately, he had been thinking about tracking Laxus down and doing a more thorough check on him. He had a better idea of the psyche of child dragon slayers now, anyway. It might help. Still, he wouldn’t tear the kid from where he was comfortable, though Acnologia would make damn well sure that Natsu was okay before doing so. He also didn’t trust anyone to be kind to Natsu if they found out he was one of Zeref’s demons. He may have great magic, but that wouldn’t protect him from their mistrust and hate. “I’ll take you back in the morning, but it’s late now, so get some rest.”</p><p>Natsu pouted, but the fatigue spoke for itself. “Fine,” he groaned, settling down on the ground. Poor kid was snoring before long.</p><p>Acnologia contented himself with taking a nap along with them. Figuring out the newest conditions of their lives would be the morning’s problem, otherwise, he would think about nothing else for the rest of the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so.... I might need to skip my update next week to catch back up and get my buffer back. With Midterms being...well, now, and my job is about to get wild, I need my buffer, heheh. I will, however, post a drabble of sorts in place of the usual update. I have one in mind, but if anyone has requests, I'm up for ideas, provided I can come up with something. :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Fairies Fly Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia returns Natsu to Magnolia.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, I took a week pause to regain my buffer and...did not regain my buffer. Heheh. Due to how both school and my new crippling addiction to Genshin Impact is going, I might need to start alternating chapters and drabbles.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“A human life is precious. You shouldn’t fly off and leave it.”</p><p>—Toni Morrison, Pilate, <em>Song of Solomon</em> (208)</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Sooo, can we go <em>now?”</em></p><p>“In a <em>minute</em>.”</p><p>If Natsu asked <em>one more time</em>, Acnologia might consider dropping him off on the ground and letting him walk. Unfortunately, he was a good person now, and good people didn’t let kids travel a hundred miles, through mountains, by themselves. Pity.</p><p>Acnologia had only agreed to the morning, and not waiting until the next night, because he knew that rain was coming. However, weather was her own creature, and even with the guaranteed winds, the time the clouds coalesced and the drizzle began was up to fate. Not to mention, if a storm came instead, he was delaying their trip again, because while he could <em>survive </em>being struck by lightning, it wasn’t pleasant, and the boy would certainly get fried. There was no thrum of ions, however, so that didn’t seem a possibility. Which was good, because if Natsu was going to be like this, then Acnologia would not want to wait another twelve hours.</p><p>Ever since waking, the boy had been insistent on returning as soon as humanly possible. He seemed to think it would be a quick ordeal, but in hindsight, the poor sap had no idea where he was. Acnologia didn’t think he cared beyond the fact that it ‘wasn’t Magnolia.’ The only time he shut up was when he was eating, and even then, he would attempt conversation with his mouth full if he felt the need.</p><p>“But why can’t we go <em>now</em>, before it rains?” Natsu whined.</p><p>“That’s exactly what I’m waiting for. Less conspicuous.” He just needed the mist low enough so that entire town wouldn’t see his ascent. There was also the matter of Magnolia, though the forest there was dense enough to provide him with some privacy if he landed far enough away. Natsu would probably hate that walk, if his current level of patience was any indication.</p><p>“But the rain sucks.”</p><p>Stars have mercy on his soul.</p><p>“He said wait, so be quiet,” a new voice snipped. Acnologia never thought he would see the day where he was glad for Charle’s bossy snideness, but here he was. Finally, someone on his side.</p><p>She also did wonders to distract Natsu. “Whoa!” he cried, poking her in the ear much to her annoyance. “You’re just like Happy!”</p><p>“Happy?” the white kitten snorted.</p><p>“Yeah! You’re both talking cats!”</p><p>“Hmph.” Charle was not happy with the subject, though Acnologia was vaguely interested himself. There were more of those things? (And Natsu was friends with <em>another </em>one, joy.) Just what were they? However, the kitten went back to her usual stony silence, so the conversation ended, much to Natsu’s dismay.</p><p>The clouds were finally lowering. If it were any other matter, he would wait longer, but he wasn’t sure how much of Natsu’s nervous energy he could take. However, there were still things to establish before they left.</p><p>“About your brother,” Acnologia spoke, hating it already. Natsu perked in his direction. “You shouldn’t mention your relation. Zeref has a lot of enemies, and you can’t take them on yourself.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?! I can take anything! I’ll beat them up myself!”</p><p>Shit, that was not the direction he was hoping this would take. “<em>No</em>, I mean, he’s a generally hated person, and associating yourself with him is the fastest way to make entire cities hate you. Just…keep it to yourself.”</p><p>Gratefully, Natsu didn’t immediately retort with some counterchallenge, instead looking morose. “Yeah. I’ve heard some stuff, before I uh—before I remembered. Demons, too. Lisanna and her siblings got kicked out of places ‘cause Mirajane got stuck with demon arms.”</p><p>There was another demon he knew? Or was it something else, because even with Natsu’s pension for making no sense, he wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. That wasn’t the issue here, though. At least, Acnologia believed he got through to him on account of being inconspicuous about his identity. Being scorned wasn’t the worst that could happen; Acnologia was sure that given the chance, those damn radical Zeref followers would make up some nonsense that would only put Natsu under fire. The kid didn’t need that. He needed an autonomous, Zeref-free life.</p><p>“So, keep this to yourself, okay? Be careful who—if anyone—that you tell.”</p><p>“Okay,” Natsu grumbled, but it satisfied Acnologia enough. That was taken care of.</p><p>Now, he had kept Natsu waiting long enough. Acnologia grabbed a cloak, making sure it was one that was somewhat new and presentable. Unfortunately, there was probably going to be an interaction by the end of this, so it was best that he didn’t look more suspicious than he already did.</p><p>This was going to be a long morning.</p><p>“Good. Now, let’s going.”</p><p>“Alright!” Natsu pumped his fist and ran ahead, only to come to a grinding halt at the opening of the cave, turning around just to gape at Acnologia. “How are we so high up?!”</p><p>Oh. Right. Natsu was unconscious the entire flight to here, and unlike Gajeel, he hadn’t pounded Acnologia with the usual ‘what-are-you?’ questions. The experience had been blissful to the point that he dismissed the lack as normal, because he hated talking about himself. It was awkward. It was also easy to assume that everyone in the cave was privy to the secret, a fact that was soon about to be true. Even though Natsu would go back to Magnolia, there was no way to avoid this detail. Even if he could, he wouldn’t, because the exchange of information was only fair. Acnologia might as well establish this beforehand, then. Besides, Natsu seemed to be the type of person who needed direct statements. “I can fly. Because I’m a dragon.”</p><p>Natsu blinked. “No you’re not.”</p><p>He was also incredibly obstinate. “Yes I am. Move over and give me room.”</p><p>The boy’s eyes grew as he transformed, careful to ensure that none of his growing limbs squashed him by mistake. During the process of letting his magic grow into his true form, his senses were the least sharp, so he often worried about the fractions in between. However, Natsu was still wide-eyed to the side after, rooted in place. “Woah! You’re a dragon!”</p><p>Wow really? It was almost like someone hadn’t have told him prior to. How astute.</p><p>“Yes, I’m a dragon,” he sighed. “I’m also a dragon slayer. Yes, it’s complicated. But this stays between us here, okay? I don’t want people to know.”</p><p>“Why not?” Natsu asked. “Dragons are awesome!”</p><p>The pure awe these children held was truly, <em>truly </em>astounding. It baffled him every time. Then again, it was people like them that deserved most to have the power to slay them, because they wouldn’t abuse it quickly. “Most people are very scared of dragons. Especially the Magic Council.”</p><p>Natsu wrinkled his nose at that, to his surprise. “Oh yeah, they suck.”</p><p>His features were blank and nearly unmovable in this form, but he felt his brow try to rise. “Oh? You know of them?” Admittedly, all Acnologia knew of were their hair-brained policies, and all of the weapons of mass destruction they squirreled away. He knew the location of some, and he suspected others, only because magic of that magnitude eventually left an imprint on the flow of ether, imperceptible to most, but noticeable enough to those in tune with the natural state of things. Anyone that paranoid was a ticking time bomb, and worst yet, they had amassed power for themselves in a few short decades.</p><p>“Gramps doesn’t like them. They keep fining Fairy Tail for stuff even though we’re awesome at our jobs. So yeah, I get it.”</p><p>Acnologia could only laugh. He made it sound so simple. “Good to know. Now, climb on and hold tight.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>The good thing about this situation was that all of the children were very experienced in riding dragons, so he had little fear regarding the situation after that understanding. The <em>better </em>thing was that it was nearly impossible for anyone to talk over the rushing winds mid-air. The unfortunate combination: Natsu tried anyway, and he was almost able to succeed.</p><p>“WHEH AHRE EH GONNA ET EHRE?!” he asked for the umpteenth time.</p><p>“Close your mouth.”</p><p>“BUH THA DO’ENT ANSWE—”</p><p>“See that forest? We’re almost there. Now shut up before you break your jaw.”</p><p>Mercifully, they really <em>were </em>almost there, though he dreaded Natsu’s nagging once the kid found out there was still walking to do. Would it be easier to put him to sleep and then carry him? No, probably not. He had no idea where to go once they reached Magnolia, and while magic was suitable to putting people to sleep, it wasn’t reliable in waking them up. Besides, it wasn’t strictly necessary. Hopefully just being in familiar territory would calm him down.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They landed without a problem. The rain was steady, but the forest was dense, so the trek wasn’t unpleasant—to him. Natsu maintained his rain-hating stance. However, his body temperature remained steady, so Acnologia wasn’t worried about his health; he was just being a wimp.</p><p>“It’s just water,” he sighed. “It’s not even cold.”</p><p>“But it’s <em>wet</em>,” Natsu emphasized, waving his hands. “And it’s everywhere! I can’t make fire good in the rain!”</p><p>“Oh?” Acnologia felt the corner of his lips twitch upward. Oh, to be new at the ways of magic. He had forgotten the learning curve, it was so long ago. “Your fire is magic. Water may be a hindrance, but it can’t stop it.”</p><p>Natsu trotted forward to keep stride with Acnologia, moving in front of him with a demonstrative hand. “But it fizzles out, see?” He summoned a burst of flame, and sure enough, the sad thing didn’t last very long. Did Igneel teach him nothing, or was Natsu just a bad listener?</p><p>“Keep the flow of magic on it, don’t stop after ignition.”</p><p>The exercise kept Natsu occupied for a few lovely minutes, although Acnologia couldn’t say he minded the gleeful shout when the little demon finally figured it out. “Hey! It’s been, like, ten whole minutes and it’s still here! See? See?”</p><p>“I see it. Good job.” Somehow, it had become instinct—perhaps thanks to Wendy in particular—to reach down and ruffle his hair. Natsu’s smile widened, but he was still focused on the flame in his palm.</p><p>“I’ll be the best Fairy Tail mage!” he declared, pumping his fist. “Just you watch!”</p><p>Acnologia wasn’t aware he was invested in this contest, but he supposed he was now that Natsu dragged him in. Not that he had any idea who was in Fairy Tail besides Laxus and his puppies—Natsu’s dream could be farther than he thought, although with magic like his, it might not be an impossible thing. Acnologia laughed. “Perhaps in time, I’m sure you could, if you train hard. There’s some impressive human mages out there, I hear.” Or so people claim. Acnologia had witnessed a few over the centuries, but the truly powerful were the enigmatic, who didn’t flaunt themselves idly. Or Zeref, but he didn’t count.</p><p>“Hey, you said you were a dragon slayer, too, right?” Natsu asked, going from topic to topic like it was nothing. So far, he was certainly the chattiest of the five, that was for sure. As much as Acnologia still distrusted the idea of him figuring out a cross of powerful dragon magic and etherious alone, he was also glad he wouldn’t be moving in, if he was always like this. It was a juxtaposing feeling. “What’s your magic?! You’re a dragon too so I bet it’s pretty cool, though not as great as fire.”</p><p>Spoken like a child of Igneel. “I use air magic, primarily,” he explained, a smirk growing as he already predicted Natsu’s reaction. His magic drove Gajeel, especially, nuts. “But I am an ether dragon slayer.”</p><p>“Like etherious?” he asked curiously, quieting slightly.</p><p>“No. Etherious, like you, exist partially <em>within </em>the ether of this world. You can access more minute forms of magic than raw ethernano that way, and you recharge differently. My magic is rather <em>parallel </em>to ethernano. Unlike normal human mages who draw from ethernano to use magic, I can manipulate the ether at its root, as a water mage may control the water. Ether is in the air, after all.”</p><p>Natsu blinked owlishly. “I don’t get it.”</p><p>Of course. “It means, I can do <em>this</em>.” With a sharp inhale, Acnologia absorbed the magic in Natsu’s flame, the fire sputtering out half-way to his mouth.</p><p>“You can eat fire, too?!”</p><p>“Not fire—the <em>magic</em>. Ether. You eat fire, Gajeel eats iron, I eat ether. Makes sense?”</p><p>“Uhhh, I think?”</p><p>Good enough. It would satisfy his curiosity. Perhaps later, when he was older, Acnologia would attempt to explain the principle to Natsu better, since as an Etherious, he would benefit from the knowledge the most. It would be unfortunate if he accidentally reached out to the ether reserves of the air and found more than he bargained for—especially considering the destructive nature of his magic. Although, not even he had a clue as to how the unprocessed nature of Etherious magic would react to the pure elemental magic of dragons. It could be problematic, or it could be a dud. Only time and training would be able to tell, but Natsu wasn’t ready for that yet.</p><p>“Oh, I can see Magnolia now!” Natsu exclaimed, even though the sounds of the city had already carried over to them half a mile ago. This, however, gave Natsu a burst of energy, because he began to run ahead. By all means, Natsu was the expert in this area, but the idea of him running off panicked Acnologia for a second—something of which he believed merely residual for having two six-year-olds in his care. Nothing more.</p><p>Keeping up with him wasn’t a problem, however. Despite the beginnings of a hustling city, and all the opportunities for him to disappear behind columns or crowds, Natsu’s scent was still strong, and his pink head was easy to spot. Acnologia needed nothing more than to keep a steady pace, and Natsu was always within immediate range.</p><p>It was when the guild hall was in sight—for it was labeled and fairly obvious—that he wondered if Natsu would run in without a problem, and if escorting him this far was a wasted effort. But Natsu stopped a couple hundred feet before the building, suddenly rooted in place. It could be mistaken for waiting for Acnologia to arrive, but he caught up and Natsu still hadn’t moved or even looked away. He studied his fingertips instead.</p><p>Ah.</p><p>“I’m not going to, uh…” Natsu fumbled with his words, peeking over his shoulder to look at Acnologia. The boisterous boy had momentarily disappeared. “To, uh, accidentally go demon again, am I? It’s not like I don’t know what it is, or anything, but uh…”</p><p>As if he even knew. Acnologia sighed. “It only happened the first time because you were unaware, so I imagine that as long as you maintain a degree of levelness, no, you shouldn’t do it unwittingly.” He didn’t accidentally turn into a dragon—anymore, he believed. Not since he regained his sense of identity. He doubted Natsu was anywhere <em>close </em>to how Acnologia had been then, and that was a good thing. He would like to keep it like that.</p><p>“Oh. Okay then!” Natsu blinked the worry away, and he was smiling again. Damn he could change demeanor fast. Or, at least, he was very convincing. There was still a hint of hesitation as he turned back to the guild hall, barely visible when he thought to look for it.</p><p>“Come on!” Natsu beckoned, ruining his newly forming plan of leaving that very instant. Acnologia complied wearily. He did still want to check these people out, anyway.</p><p>The building was gaudy and overly colorful, unsuited for appearing serious in anyway. The doors were bright orange, there were hearts and fairies in the goldwork, and its name was <em>Fairy Tail</em>. He should have expected as much. It was big and sturdy, at least, and he could tell from here, <em>very loud</em>. And full of alcohol.</p><p>Stars, alcohol stunk. Humans had to have dull senses to be able to stand around that stuff. Maybe this was why Natsu was lacking in vigilance.</p><p>The boy yanked open the door, ending Acnologia’s ability to consider a plan to engage. Oh well.</p><p>Surprisingly, almost every resident ceased what they were doing and fixated on Natsu. On the wings of his previous anxiety, even the overly sociable boy was overwhelmed, taking half a step back into Acnologia. However, the fear dissipated with the cheers.</p><p>“Hey, it’s Natsu!” a man cried around his smoke pipe. “Told ya’ the scamp was okay!”</p><p>So, they noticed his absence. In hindsight, taking him back to the cave without knowledge of who would miss him was not the most tactful, but he still believed the privacy was what Natsu needed in the moment. It was moments of unclarity and panic that got people labeled as monsters. Then, it was easier to remain one.</p><p>“Heh, sorry ‘bout that,” Natsu laughed, some of his nervousness bleeding through. For someone so excellent at denial, he wasn’t the best liar. Although, Acnologia was comforted in the knowledge that most humans weren’t keen on picking up on it. They believed what they chose.</p><p>“Natsu,” a new voice spoke, equally stern and relieved. “Lisanna and Happy stirred up quite the fuss. You’re free to go wherever, but you’ll need to tell them first. They were sure something had happened, for some reason.”</p><p>Being a guild full of mages, the amount of magical energy in the air was already impressive, but even through the collective haze—a scent that at least eased that of the alcohol—Acnologia could peg this diminutive man as one of the strongest, if not the most so. It was not uncannily so, but enough to be distinguishable. That fact, along with his age and his staff, would hint at his authority in the establishment. And then there was the stupid hat.</p><p>“Sorry, Gramps,” Natsu responded. “I, uh…”</p><p>This was his time to step in. “He passed out in the woods.” The old man’s gaze turned starkly to him, as well as the gazes of many curious onlookers. It was uncomfortable. “Nothing serious, probably just exhaustion.” And crippling identity issues, along with the fact that Natsu apparently experienced <em>death</em> of all things, if his ramblings were correctly interpreted. “I happened across him and took him back to my camp for treatment. My apologies for worrying you.”</p><p>“Oh? Well thank you for caring for him!”</p><p>That was too easy. Wait, he was suspicious—</p><p>“And who might you be, hm? I haven’t seen you around here before.”</p><p>Ah. He was suspicious—rightfully so, because most of what he said was a carefully constructed lie—but he was choosing not to appear so. Perhaps this man was smarter than he looked; he had to be at least a little, to have that level of magic mastery. “My name is Acnologia,” he replied, praying no connection would be found. At the very least, the concept of being both human and dragon was absurd to those who didn’t remember the war—which seemed to be most everyone, if Fioran history was anything to go by. “I’m just a traveling doctor who was passing by. I had stopped to collect herbs on the far side of the forest. I didn’t know where to take him until he was coherent enough to tell me… and even then, it was difficult.”</p><p>The man barked out a genuine laugh. “Ha! That sounds like Natsu. I’m Makarov, Fairy Tail’s Master. Welcome to Magnolia!” Makarov appraised him once more, holding the smile in an attempt to hide his sharp gaze, but his eyes softened at the end. “Thank you for helping my boy.”</p><p>Acnologia dipped his head in acknowledgement, but he said nothing. They seemed a flighty, and perhaps irresponsible, bunch, but judging by how the guild members greeted Natsu, and he in turn, they cared for him. It was better than could be said about Gajeel’s or Rogue’s crowd, so it helped to ease his worries on the matter. Still, he would like to check in from time to time, if only to ensure Natsu’s Etherious nature wouldn’t interfere dangerously with the dragon seed. It might also be good to give the kid access to people like him, for solidarity’s sake. That, and if Wendy didn’t visit, she would be sad.</p><p>He made a movement to leave, ready to be free of the tumult, when a new presence made itself known on the balcony.</p><p>“You,” Laxus called, eyes fixed on him and hands gripping the railing tight enough to turn his knuckles white. “It’s <em>you</em>.”</p><p>Acnologia mentally kicked himself. He had been so focused on handling the interaction with the Master, and adding on the crazy atmosphere, that he hadn’t noticed Laxus’ presence. He would have tried to be quicker if he had, or he would have left altogether.</p><p>Laxus was a different situation than the other children. He was not out of place in this era, more comfortable with dragons than humans, nor had he been without a stable home. It was still likely his responsibility to ensure that he did not go mad with dragon magic, but it was easier to do from afar. The core difference was the first impression, however. The children of the bygone era did not know him, and he was able to approach them honestly, for the most part. Meanwhile, he killed the man that was Laxus’ father on account of being sleezy and a stranger, only realizing the full implications after the fact. There had been no time to plan or to consider, for what happened to Laxus happened all at once. If asked, Acnologia would hold to what he did—that man that called himself a father sounded no different than the slave masters of Mistrel—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t remorseful, to an extent. At Porlyusica’s insistence, he went back to bury that body after the fact, marking the shallow grave in case anyone ever came back for him. Acnologia had killed far too much to not learn how to acknowledge it.</p><p>Ifs and buts aside, Laxus had every right to hate Acnologia. He killed his father and then abandoned him, because Acnologia had not believed himself capable of being a good influence. And perhaps he still wasn’t, but at the very least, Wendy, Gajeel, and Rogue were proving that he wasn’t the worst—though they were well acquainted with a dragon’s odd sense of sociality.</p><p>Acnologia met Laxus’ eyes for a tense, nearly mournful moment. The teen’s expression was hard to read, as if not even he knew what he was feeling. He felt the room quiet, more gazes shifting to them, and Acnologia’s discomfort returned sevenfold. He needed to get out of there, because neither he nor Laxus needed this publicity.</p><p>“Yes. It’s me.”</p><p>It was the only statement Laxus gave aloud, and it was the only one answered before Acnologia swiftly left the building. He did not doubt that Laxus wanted more, but that was all he was willing to give in front of a crowd. The Guild-master’s sharp gaze had returned as well, so there was no lack of scrutiny on the delicate matter.</p><p>As expected, the teen scrambled after him, catching up to him on a quiet street next to the guild hall by using lightning to boost his speed. Clever, and it reeked of his impulse. The hesitance came when Laxus tried to speak again.</p><p>“You were… You…” He growled to himself, clenching his fists. <em>You murdered my father. You left me alone</em>. There were many things he could have said, but Acnologia forced himself to wait. He would face whatever this kid wanted from him, because he owed him at least that much. “Why?! Why the hell were you there?!”</p><p>Why? What a short yet weighty question. To be honest, it was mere coincidence and instinct that led him to that building in the night. A chance of fate and time. The real question was, why did he engage? Why did he do the things he did?</p><p>“I was in the area for herbs and fertilizer,” he began. “I felt the dragon magic from the lacrima pulse. I’ve seen the lacrimas before—they’ve been around for a couple of decades now. To be frank, I was fully prepared to kill whatever idiot would grapple with unknown forces for just more power.”</p><p>It was a brutal honesty, and it made Laxus flinch, but not sway. He stood his ground, his resolve something to be admired, but the confusion was present. “You didn’t…kill <em>me</em>.”</p><p>“No. You were not to blame. You’re not to blame now. Dragons and dragon magic are not evil on their own.” And what a statement that was. It only took him hundreds of years to be able to say that resolutely. “It is only greed.”</p><p>“What about you?” He wasn’t sure if Laxus’ tone was accusatory or confused—it was too muddled. “You said you were a dragon slayer.”</p><p>“I am, so I speak from experience. I’m not like you, however. I was imbued by the dragons themselves, along with many others. Most are dead now.” For better or for worse.</p><p>Now that he had made Laxus distinctly uncomfortable, perhaps it was time to finish this conversation and attempt to ease him, if even possible. “Look, I came because I was concerned about petty vagrants meddling with forces they didn’t understand, and I stayed because you needed help. It may have been a long time, but I was a doctor, truthfully. If you have any more questions, speak now. Or come and find me. This probably won’t be the last time we meet.”</p><p>Laxus swallowed, looking as if he was mustering up another question that he did not yet know. Acnologia waited. The exchange was tense, but not as angry as he expected. It was almost worrisome.</p><p>A demand came instead. “Teach me dragon slayer magic.”</p><p>“Come again?”</p><p>The teen squared his shoulders. “You…defeated my dad, so I know you must be strong. You seem to know a lot. Teach me.”</p><p>It’s not as if the thought never crossed his mind, although in reality, he was wary of doing so. Strengthening the magic may quicken the dragonization process. Now, training would not carry as far or as quickly as absorbing the magic of slain dragons, so perhaps it would not be as catastrophic. Still, even the slayers that did not see as many battles shared the same fate. It would come.</p><p>This could prepare him, however—all of them. Laxus was old enough to handle it, as well as perhaps Gajeel and Natsu. Unlike those two, Laxus had no foundation. While Acnologia had accessed him from afar, determining him to be competent, it was true that he did not know how proficient he was in the finer aspects of dragon magic—or dragon <em>physique. </em></p><p>The prospect had merits. Acnologia did not want to involve himself in matters that did not pertain to him, but he had already crossed paths with Laxus, and here, the boy was asking to cross paths again. He also had Natsu to consider, and he alone was reason to return to Magnolia from time to time. When Acnologia swore to himself to ensure that these children would not meet the same fate as he, he intended to stick to it, but he had not imagined how much contact that would entail.</p><p>So be it, then. Not all of it was as bad as he had feared, anyway.</p><p>“Okay.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alternative chapter summary: Acnologia exceeds his introvert meter limit for the day.</p><p>Also, writing young Natsu is an absolute gem. A hard to crack gem, but a gem. Laxus did his best to come in and steal this chapter though. Joke's on me, though, because I'm 90% sure he gets the next drabble....</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Everything Changes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On this episode of House Hunters—</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, um, there was no drabble last week. Sorry. (Instead I posted two Genshin drabbles, so whoops.) With finals approaching, I do think I'll have to move to a every-other-week update schedule until the end of this installment. Hopefully I can keep that up for each installment, but I might need a little padding inbetween. We shall seeeee...</p><p>(I already used a quote from "Everything Changes," so another Watership Down quote it is!)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t you see, they’d altered what rabbits do naturally because they thought they could do better? And if they altered their ways, so can we if we like.”</p><p>—Richard Adams, <em>Watership Down</em>, Blackberry (132)</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was amazing how much life could change in a few mere months. Before, decades could pass and he would hardly bat an eye, but now he had gone from a loner in February to looking for a house suitable for himself and multiple children come the beginning of June. It baffled him, yet Acnologia carried on anyway.</p><p>It wasn’t a <em>bad </em>change.</p><p>Yes, it was busier, and yes, it was <em>louder</em>—his private time had all but waned to nothing, save for errands, and it was mildly distressing—but it was interesting. Time no longer dragged on in dull monotony, whispering to him cruel truths in the silence. Days no longer seemed pointless in fruitless existence, providing nothing to him and less to the world around him. Now, there was always something to wake to, some shine to the monotony.</p><p>“Hey! Give that back!”</p><p>“Then grow taller, <em>gihi</em>! Wait, what are you— <em>ack!”</em></p><p>Acnologia closed his eyes again with a heavy sigh. A gentle yet insistent hand appeared to tap on his shoulder.</p><p>“Ac-nii? Are you awake? Are Gajeel and Rogue being too noisy?” Wendy asked. As if he was still foolish enough to believe he could sleep.</p><p>There was always something to wake up to now, that was for certain.</p><p>“I’m awake <em>now</em>.”</p><p>Acnologia stretched, painfully aware now—thanks to the unfortunate comparisons made that neither he nor Charle were keen to accept—that he stretched like an overgrown cat. But it was effective, so damn their opinions. Despite the continued noises of whatever squabble Gajeel and Rogue had gotten into, he took the time to loosen his muscles before he shifted back to his more manageable human form, lest he be plagued with phantom tensions the rest of the day.</p><p>It was morning, evident by the soft beams of eastward light shining into the cave. Good, he got a little under twenty hours of sleep. It wasn’t quite the sleep cycle he was accustomed to, but it was better than the nightly naps he forced himself to have when it had just been him and Wendy. Now that he could trust that no one would starve, Acnologia could begin to feel more rested.</p><p>“Have you eaten yet?” he asked.</p><p>Wendy shook her head. “Gajeel and Rogue were deciding whether to have more deer or strawberries.” <em>Arguing</em>, she meant, because Acnologia could hear them from his dreams.</p><p>He moved towards the front of the cave where the meal-fire was, Wendy skipping behind him. Sure enough, Gajeel was withholding the freshly picked strawberries from Rogue, who in turn, was beginning to suck Gajeel’s legs into a shadow. Impressive technique for his age, but Acnologia wasn’t about to see limbs lost to the shadow realm this early in the morning.</p><p>“You know,” he began, yanking Gajeel out of the shadow with one arm, “You could have <em>different breakfasts.” </em></p><p>Gajeel and Rogue blinked at him owlishly, and he knew the concept had slipped from them entirely. Typical. Sometimes, the little dragon slayers were more dragon than he, their parentage shining through.</p><p>“Oh.” Rogue retracted the shadows. “Then…can I have some strawberries, please?”</p><p>“Yeah, sure.” A hard look toward Gajeel was all that was needed for him to set the berries down. Acnologia found their squabbles amusing at times, but not in the morning. It was still too early for this.</p><p>Rogue and Wendy both delighted themselves in the strawberries, while Gajeel and Acnologia had the leftover meat from last night. Gajeel had cooked this one, Acnologia being asleep, and it wasn’t half bad for a beginner. Much too dry, though. He would turn the rest to jerky and put it out of its misery later—it kept better that way, regardless. Meanwhile, the kids went back to chattering as if no skirmish ever happened, though he knew better than to think such peace was permanent. The elasticity of children and their whims was truly astounding.</p><p>He left them to their devices, and he tended to his own. These past couple of weeks had been spent house-hunting, of all things. As much house-hunting as one could do when he had one, no idea what budget a bunch of collected period-junk would earn him, and two, what the hell he even wanted in a house. Spatial qualities—location and room—were all he could think to consider.</p><p>Caves were much simpler because they were nothing <em>but </em>these qualities.</p><p>Of course, he had <em>some </em>aesthetic standards. He knew what looked awful, at least—such as whatever dark guilds seem to associate with, or anything from that one, terrible era when humans decided that function didn’t matter and everything was going to be as impossibly ornate and outright ridiculous as possible. He was glad that tradition changed.</p><p>Location in itself was hard enough to pin down. He had a copious list of things he <em>didn’t </em>want: not the cursed forest down below, not anywhere near the capital, not within a hundred mile radius of the Council, not anywhere too crowded… Acnologia <em>did </em>have a place in mind, although he was unsure if it was due to his lack of creativity, or some other sixth sense. Regardless, Magnolia had become his main focus.</p><p>The presence of that mage guild was off-putting, but both Natsu and Laxus belonged to it, and he had connections with the both of them, intentional or not. He had still yet to follow up on Laxus after promising the boy training, but he had never set a timetable, so there was nothing to feel guilt over. Acnologia did not know what possessed him to agree to it in the first place, but he would not go back on it. At this point, all he hoped for was that Laxus would keep his mouth shut about the finer aspects of Acnologia and his brood, because he doubted humans were ready to accept any of it—nor should they know at all.</p><p>That was not today’s problem, however. First, a house.</p><p>Rogue was finally over his cold, and now that Acnologia suspected he was eating and sleeping better than he had been at the orphanage, a relapse was unlikely. However, the summer rains were beginning, and the cave would grow damp—something that was tolerable to a dragon, but less ideal for humans. Not to mention when winter came. Hell, even <em>he </em>didn’t like the cold mountain winter, but he was normally asleep for it. The cave was also harder for humans to enter and exit, a fact that was a bonus two hundred years ago and inconvenient now. He helped Gajeel set up a ladder and ledge system to make it easier, but it would be a hassle in inclement weather.</p><p>There was also that pesky matter of proper human upbringing. Socializing was good for kids, or something. They still have lives to look forward too, and if Acnologia had any say in the matter, it would stay that way.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>He consulted the real estate office in Clover Town, because it was closer and walkable. Not a walk for the faint of heart, of course, but it only took him a few hours. Clover Town had fallen off his short-list due to its small size, of all things, though being close to the mountains would have been lovely. At first, he thought it was a benefit, before a few errands led to half the population knowing him as the “mountain hermit” far too quickly. Small towns asked too many questions.</p><p>However, it was a hassle to travel during times when human businesses operated, so Acnologia opted to settle with the probing woman just so he can have some answers.</p><p>“We don’t have everything from Magnolia, but here are the listings we have record of here,” the woman announced, returning with a stack of papers. She eyed him with a curious glint. “Where did you say you were moving from again, good sir?”</p><p>He ignored her, sifting through the stack. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but a bunch of apartments and town houses was not it. He was hoping for something more secluded.</p><p>“Is there anything not <em>in </em>the city, just nearby?” he asked.</p><p>She frowned. “If there is, it might only be listed in Magnolia. Most of those would either be run-down shacks or country-side mansions though! I don’t suppose either strikes your interest, hm?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>As the real estate agent struggled to respond to his curt reply, he stared again at the list. It looked like he would have to ask around Magnolia after all, but at least he had a good idea of the options—and the lack thereof.</p><p>He would need to make better arrangements, then.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Maybe Magnolia wasn’t the right choice after all. They were just as social. Less personal, but very friendly. It was disconcerting.</p><p>They also liked to live on top of each other. The cobblestone lined streets were neatly packed with storefronts and houses alike. They were at least spaced out thusly, not cramped atop one another, but the streets spiraled lazily throughout the town in a casual comradery.</p><p>This setup was so comfortable to the town’s denizens, as well as newcomers, that no one hardly bothered to build outside the core city. It was a real shame.</p><p>“Find anything?” Gajeel asked.</p><p>The closest thing he found was a townhouse behind a closed-down butcher’s shop. It stunk of rotten meat and mold alike. “No,” he grumbled. “Nothing.”</p><p>Acnologia had planned to leave in the night, stay in the forest until morning, and then spend however long it took to sort out this house business in Magnolia. On a whim, he asked the kids if any of them wanted to tag along—it would be primarily for them, after all, and it needed to cater to their needs. Wendy hastily and excitedly replied an affirmative, and soon all of them were on board. It was more than he expected, but it worked out, because he was able to soundly leave Wendy and Rogue with Gajeel without fearing the worst.</p><p>They went off to explore on their own, while Acnologia dealt with the tedious work like talking to real estate agents and sellers. He found them camped outside a café, their scent easy to follow even beyond the strong aromas of the shop. “What about you?” he asked the teen in return. “Any thoughts?”</p><p>Gajeel pulled a face, somewhere between thoughtful and disturbed. “Everything here is nice, but I dunno’ if that’s normal or somethin’.”</p><p>“Is…that a bad thing?” Never mind that Acnologia himself had made a similar observation. He just hoped that he would have a better perspective to work off of.</p><p>“I dunno. Guess not.” Gajeel shrugged, sparing a glance backward at the younger kids. They were still seated at the table, engrossed in the sharing of a slice of cinnamon bread. “Just between the shithole I landed in, and then Oak Town, it’s different. I haven’t been accused of stealing somethin’ or lurkin’ once.”</p><p>“…<em>have </em>you done either of those things?”</p><p>“What? Nah. Not here, at least.”</p><p>Good enough.</p><p>“There’s more listings, but most of them look to be apartments,” Acnologia continued. “That being said, I don’t have high expectations. We can always stay into the night and return early morning.”</p><p>“Aww, no more looking?” Wendy interjected, trotting over with a pout, Rogue behind her with Charle floating above them. “I like it here. And this is where Natsu lives, right? He needs to be with us too!”</p><p>Acnologia blinked. He didn’t recall ever mentioning that this was where Natsu was, although it had certainly been part of his thought process. “Did you see him?”</p><p>She shook her head. “No, but a lot of people talk about Fairy Tail, and he talked about it a lot too! It, um, seems like a nice guild…”</p><p>It was then that Acnologia remembered that technically, Wendy had been part of a guild too, and despite being populated by a single dead person, she had had a better experience than Gajeel had with his. It hadn’t occurred to him that she would still miss it, but of course she would. She still remembered.</p><p>“Hey! I <em>knew </em>I smelled something familiar!” As if summoned, a familiar head of pink came running down the street. Natsu wasn’t alone, either. A blue kitten flew on magic wings above him, just as Charle was doing, and a little girl with white hair ran after them.</p><p>“Oh, so your nose <em>does</em> work,” he commented lightly in greeting, unsure how to address the companions.</p><p>Gajeel snorted at the comment, but Acnologia cuffed him lightly in the head. “You’re not much better.” He could still remember watching Gajeel try to track that rabbit. It had been maddening.</p><p>Natsu seemed unbothered, still smiling widely. “This is Happy and Lisanna, my best friends!” he introduced. “They’re both in Fairy Tail too!”</p><p>“Even the cat?” Gajeel asked, unwittingly echoing Acnologia’s own thoughts.</p><p>“Aye!” the cat, Happy, shouted enthusiastically.</p><p>Acnologia dipped his chin towards Natsu’s friends politely, but said nothing, unsure of what to say. There was no purpose in the exchange, just pleasantries—although now that the opportunity was presented, he was curious as to who Natsu associated with. The cat seemed the same as Charle, wielding a specific type of construct magic that was almost air and almost light, but ultimately neither. The girl smelled of the forest, her magic similarly dense and lively—writhing, even. Take Over magic. It was rare and usually not benign, being an inherently ‘black art,’ involving the manipulation of space, life, and death all at once. High risk, high reward, and a teetering sense of morality. Whether the scholars ever considered Take Over magic ‘forbidden’ or ‘black’ was not known to him, as it was a magic commonly practiced by humans and practiced <em>on </em>other creatures.</p><p>This caused him to be hesitant about accepting this girl’s presence, particularly around a too-trusting boy who was also part demon and part dragon. Although to the girl’s credit, he could not hear any distressed souls from within her, only the occasional burst of senses or chirp of emotion. Whatever she absorbed didn’t seem to be overly sentient—that, or she was good at suppressing the inevitable cacophony of souls, but she was a child hardly older than Natsu, and not abnormally powerful, though gifted enough to wield such matter. As of now, the girl posed little threat to Natsu. But things could always change.</p><p>Acnologia ceased his observations only to hear an indignant hiss. While he had been focused on the girl, the blue cat noticed Charle. Drawn to the female of his species, the kitten must have gotten too close or said something offensive, because Charle flew higher and away from him, turning her nose up the air with a huff. “Don’t talk to me, male cat.”</p><p>Gajeel and Natsu laughed, while the white-haired girl tried to suppress giggles, at the obvious distress of the blue cat. “I just said you were pretty…” he sniffled.</p><p>Charle dutifully ignored him while Wendy attempted to plead with the cat to be nicer. Gajeel didn’t stop laughing.</p><p>Well, things weren’t looking good for their species so far. Poor cat.</p><p>“So what are you guys doing here?” Natsu asked. “Isn’t your mountain like, super far away?”</p><p>“It’s not <em>that </em>far.” Natsu made it sound like the other side of the continent. “And we just came here looking for houses, that’s all.” There was no point in hiding it from him, since Natsu would find out eventually. Even though Natsu already had a home, he was still considered in Acnologia’s plans, if only because from what little he knew of Natsu, he didn’t trust the kid not to bite off more than he could chew. (He would also be more volatile, should anything with his magic go awry.)</p><p>“Really? That’s awesome! Where is it?”</p><p>“I said we were <em>looking</em>. Nothing yet.”</p><p>Natsu frowned, disappointed. With the way these kids were acting, it was going to be hard for him to choose anywhere <em>but </em>here, even though he had been dissatisfied with all the choices. Maybe he should just build a cottage in the woods like Porlyusica did. He knew nothing about construction, but he was sure it couldn’t be too difficult to learn…</p><p>“Aw, that’s too bad,” Natsu sighed, before immediately perking back up again. “Hey! Happy and I are building a house. Maybe you could too!”</p><p>If Zeref could make demons who could read minds, he was going to bury that mage in an iceberg. Fortunately, Natsu’s observation was purely coincidental, as apparently, evidence that building was the only way to avoid townhouses in Magnolia. Lovely.</p><p>Wait. This twelve-year-old and his cat were <em>building a house? </em>The <em>hell? </em>Maybe his initial assumption regarding negligence of his care was more accurate than he thought.</p><p>“You’re…<em>building… </em>a house? By yourselves?”</p><p>“Hey! I’ve been helping too!” the girl—Liz or something—squealed indignantly.</p><p><em>Two </em>twelve-year-olds and a cat. Definitely made it better.</p><p>“Yeah!” Natsu agreed. “It’s going <em>way </em>slower than I thought it would, but we already got walls! It’s really cool. You wanna see it?”</p><p>“Sure.” Yes, he was curious. Depending on the state of things, Natsu might be spending some more nights with him and the others, because strong magic or no, no child should be alone to the elements like that. Especially closer to the forest, because even though the area was mostly civilized, the remnants of the old Julican Forest could be nasty in their own right.</p><p>“Awesome! Happy and I were headed there anyway. Come on, it’s this way!”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>The Take Over child left partway there, needing to go to her own home. As he suspected, Natsu led them just outside of town and into the forest. While potentially dangerous in this stage, he did acknowledge that even Natsu, one of the more sociable ones, had the draconic tendency to retreat to his own space. </p><p>And, as he <em>also </em>suspected, the building project that Natsu spoke so highly of did not yet appear to be a competent house. At all.</p><p>Yeah, sure, there were four walls built of cobbled stone, though each one was presently a different height. There was also no door frame, just a hole blown through the front. It appeared they were starting on a roof, but at least a tent was drawn over the structure as a temporary weather deterrent. The most glaring issue was most likely the sapling currently <em>inside </em>their structure, something that should have been removed before the process even began.</p><p>On the other hand, it could have been worse. Acnologia still wasn’t pleased with this being the boy’s living arrangement. At least the cave was safe from beast and weather.</p><p>“What do you think?” Natsu asked excitedly, his enthusiasm not ready for all of Acnologia’s thoughts.</p><p>“Um.” Rogue tilted his head at the tent. “What happens when it rains?”</p><p>Acnologia felt a large surge of pride at the observation, mostly because he didn’t have to be the one to voice it. Thank the stars, at least he had the assurance that the other kids were sensible.</p><p>“He gets wet,” Gajeel laughed, only to get punched by Natsu.</p><p>“Nah-uh! I’m not <em>stupid</em>. Gramps lets us stay in the guild hall when it rains really hard.”</p><p>“Don’t hit me ya’ hot-head!” Gajeel shouted as he punched Natsu in turn. The two immediately dropped all conversation to tussle across the ground like two stray cats.</p><p>Stars, what was he going to do with them?</p><p>Wendy tugged at his cloak, so he ignored the two teens and looked to her. They weren’t fighting seriously, so they’ll be fine. Hopefully.</p><p>“Can we build a house, too?” she asked, eyes wide and hopeful. “We can put another pillow fort in it! And make it really big and where you want it, away from people.”</p><p>Unbeknownst to her, Acnologia had already decided such a thing—minus the pillow fort, though the kids were welcome to it if they insisted. As long as they were warm and healthy, he didn’t care how they slept. The hassle of construction aside, there were ultimately more benefits to building, because research was informing him that he would never find a dragon-friendly house built by humans anytime soon.</p><p>The deciding factor was Natsu. Regardless of what that guild master thought on the matter, Acnologia was resolutely uncomfortable with the notion of him being alone out here. Rogue had proven that dragon slayers, despite their enhanced physiology, could get sick, and he was also left exposed to creature and man alike.</p><p>Acnologia could build nearby, close enough to ease his worry but far enough to give the boy his space. Although he would insist that Natsu and his cat stay with them in the meantime, because the tent had a hole in it, and he could already smell the beginnings of mold.</p><p>“Yeah, I think we will,” he replied.</p><p>It was strange, making such a decision. He had long since abandoned such domestic functions, even before becoming a dragon. Yet here he was, ready to change his lifestyle for the sake of some squishy children.</p><p>He found that he didn’t mind all that much. It was just another change.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not gonna lie, I've thought about the implications of Natsu's and Happy's house before. When did they build it? How? How is it still standing, despite everything? The world may never know. </p><p>Also, I don't know if anyone cares, but I made a Spotify playlist for this series. It's more character based, and loosely outlines their arcs, but it's fun inspiration music for me. The playlist is under the same name as the series (yes, Spotify screwed me over with the serial number name, if anyone asks), if anyone feels adventurous one day.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Makings of Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How many dragon slayers does it take to build a house?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aiiiii I squeaked this out along with my paper that was due tonight! I'm alive! *muffled sobbing from encroaching finals*</p><p>This is a little different, as it kinda skips forward through a bit of time. Building a house takes a bit, you know? Hopefully it's enjoyable.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“’Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone<br/>
Is where you go when you're alone<br/>
Is where you go to rest your bones<br/>
It’s not just where you lay your head<br/>
It’s not just where you make your bed<br/>
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?”</em>
</p><p>—Gabrielle Aplin, “Home”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Acnologia glared at the propped open book with a poorly concealed growl. These instructions were garbage, and if he didn’t have any self-control, he would have burned them for their transgressions. What the hell happened between the third and the fourth diagram? What were half of the tools it mentioned? Obviously, things invented in recent eras, because he had no idea. He didn’t pay attention to the evolution of construction tools. Why the hell would he?!</p><p>And here he had hoped that purchasing building guides would be worth his while.</p><p>“Hey Acno, the trusses are up. We’re gonna’ need that underlayment soon for the roof. And the shingles.”</p><p>At least Gajeel knew what he was doing. And if he didn’t, at least the frame was still stable. Granted, the guidebooks didn’t account for an iron dragon slayer to be able to produce beams and nuts as they needed. Gajeel was even getting better at making more intricate shapes over the course of this project; it was productive.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I’m going to go on a supply run. I only want to go once this week, so I’m making sure I’m not missing anything.”</p><p>The construction began more simply, because boxes were easy to visualize. Acnologia had a wealth of trees amongst the forest to choose from, ensuring to cut them from various areas as to not thin out any one area. Any <em>more </em>areas. (Natsu was banned from tree-cutting after he set fire to five trees at once.)</p><p>He could cut lumber into straight planks, and he could break rocks into bricks. Any element condensed into a thin and forceful enough blade to cut anything. The kids were even getting some practice on the matter, although they did have a decent sized reject pile. Point was, that was the easy part: make materials, build frame.</p><p>Foolishly, he believed it would stay that simple. Then he was informed that the house needed rooms, and a kitchen, and plumbing. Acnologia was then, somehow, fired as ‘project manager’ due to his subsequent “boring plan” (Natsu’s words) and “old-fashioned ideas” (Gajeel’s words). Whatever those teens pitched, it sold Wendy and Rogue hook-line-and-sinker despite flying over Acnologia’s head.</p><p>It was fine, though. Gajeel (not Natsu) was actually adept at construction. Apparently, he had some experience from his stay in Denish after he first landed in this era. He could lead the way on the creative and finer aspect; Acnologia was just here to make sure this project stayed sane. (Everyone was upset when he vetoed the indoor pool, but he was <em>not </em>having any mold in that house. They would thank him later.)</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Supplies were expensive.</p><p>After the too-long process of figuring out and tracking down what was needed to finish the construction, the estimate turned into a decent sum of Jewel. It was one of the reasons Natsu’s project had been slow-going. Very slow-going.</p><p>They had already, apparently, skipped many costs by finding their own raw materials, but Acnologia wanted something long lasting and suitable, so he was willing to go the extra mile. He had brought some pawnable items for this very reason, and he hoped it would be enough.</p><p><em>Hoped</em>, being the optimal word. Acnologia rummaged through his scant possessions, most saved for the purpose of Jewel, and found suitable items. Jewelry from the Svit people, who no longer exist, some texts from ancient academies, and some various ceramics he picked up from here or there. The jewelry should have been the big seller. The Svit used to occupy the region of Seven, though they were the migratory sort. When he had been getting used to his human form again, he had interacted with a number of them, mostly because they were a reserved and no-nonsense people that didn’t peer into the plight of strangers. Maybe it was why their land was ultimately taken from them.</p><p>If Acnologia was the sentimental sort, perhaps he would have kept the earrings as mementos, but they were more useful to him in trade. He had the memories, both ones he wished to remember and unpleasant ones of painful transition, and that was all that mattered in the end. Although, his armband was fashioned after their own. It had been from the Svit that he learned basic runes.</p><p>Now, they were just a source of frustration.</p><p>“’Cheap tin’!? These are two hundred years old! They’re still intact, too.”</p><p>The pawn shop worker looked down at him over the bridge of his glasses. Or at least tried to, because Acnologia easily stood a head above him, if not more. “Sir, even if that is to be believed, there’s nothing spectacular about this. This…story you speak of has no verification.”</p><p>“So it’s my fault your archeological records are shitty?”</p><p>The worker sighed. “We are a respectable establishment here, sir. I’m sorry that you were told something so hard to prove about those pieces of yours. They’ll sell for something, sure, but not as much as you hoped, I’m afraid.”</p><p><em>My proof is that I was there </em>was, unfortunately, an incriminating statement to his goal of being as inconspicuous as possible, so Acnologia kept his mouth shut. Fine. Goes to show the efficiency of human history. “Fine, <em>fine. </em>What about the texts? I know some of them are hard to read, but they’re mostly in one piece.” Unfortunately, he only considered the merits of vacuum-sealing a portion of his belongings to keep from decay in the last century. He already lost some things to time.</p><p>The man’s lips grew thinner, if that was even possible. “Ah. The texts. I’m afraid we can’t accept those at all.”</p><p>“What, you don’t do books now?”</p><p>“We…do, but as I said, sir, we are a respectable establishment. We do not deal with anything regarding, ah, <em>black magic.” </em></p><p>Black magic—?! “The hell? These are just some old academic treatises on warping. People still do that.”</p><p>“The practice of manipulating space-time is hubris, and it has been labeled as such. Please sir, I give you the benefit of the doubt, but I do urge you to get rid of those Zeref texts.”</p><p>“But that’s literally <em>what magic is! </em>And these were written before that brat was even born!<em>”</em> Of fucking course, Zeref would be a thorn in his side even when he didn’t do anything.</p><p>Ugh, fine, he was getting ahead of himself. Sure, it <em>was </em>a dangerous sub-genre of magic. It was messy when people got it wrong, so <em>fine</em>, it was outlawed. Still seemed like a weak excuse to him, but his opinion of the Magic Council was already astronomically low. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll take them back. Just…what can I get for the earrings and the ceramics?” He might as well leave with something, and then he could reassess what was still needed later.</p><p>That’s when the man’s eyes lit up. “On the subject of the ceramics, sir, I do have excellent news. It seems here that this one—” he pulled out some plate he had acquired at some point; it was too painted to eat on properly though “—is an original Veronican mural plate of Prince Byrone III!”</p><p>Eh?</p><p>“I don’t know how you found it, but this one was a good find indeed. They were made to commemorate the birth of the royal family’s firstborn for many generations, centuries ago. Finding one in good condition is very rare, as many pieces would be smashed at the individual’s passing. This will fetch a hefty sum for sure. Here, let me write an estimate for you.”</p><p>Acnologia looked over the estimate sheet that the man wrote out. It was not at all what he expected. The earrings of a lost generation were worth a mere fraction of that non-washable plate. He can’t even remember where he got it; it might have been one of those objects given to him randomly in his travels. Actually, he <em>did </em>remember entering a province for a new cloak once only for the entire place to be wrapped in noisy celebration. Had this been the incident? Not that he cared. Humans and their sense of value were strange.</p><p>He signed the document, relinquished the items, and collected the Jewel. It would be enough to carry them through the project, but at the price everything was nowadays, it may run out before long. Since when had everything inflated to this degree? He missed the days when people were more willing to trade item for item. It was easier on vagabonds like him than this society business.</p><p>By the time he figured out this new system, it might just change again.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Even after they finish the roof, the kids bemoan the loss of the wind tent.</p><p>Apparently, it was “cool” and “fun,” even though it was just Acnologia’s provision for a temporary shelter. It took energy to uphold, but it was a relatively simple spell, creating a dome of circulating air that would keep rain and debris out and the air inside warm. He had no idea why everyone was so fascinated with it. Even Lisanna, when she would come to visit Natsu, eyed the dome like it was the greatest thing imaginable.</p><p>He worried for the state of magic in this era.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“Can my room have one of those giant fire pits?”</p><p>“No. That’s a fire hazard.”</p><p>“Aw man.”</p><p>Acnologia had had a growing suspicion, but that’s when he knew that Natsu had abandoned his own housing project in favor joining theirs.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“Are you <em>suuureee </em>those pipes are going to hold? They look kinda lame to me.”</p><p>“<em>You’re </em>lame you flame-headed salamander! You’re just jealous cuz’ your magic isn’t useful for anything but blowing shit up.”</p><p>“I’ll blow <em>you </em>up, metal-face!”</p><p>“Then try, ash-brain!”</p><p>Acnologia had learned their song and dance by now. “No fighting in the house. You break it, you fix it.” It was fifty-fifty if they changed location or let it slide. Fighting was the only way Natsu and Gajeel could communicate, but if they were quiet, they worked fairly well together. It was thanks to their combined efforts that they had a welded pipe system.</p><p>It was also thanks to them that they had to rebuild some walls multiple times.</p><p>Rogue sunk the pipes into the ground with his shadow magic after Acnologia, Wendy, and Lisanna finished laying them, leading to the nearby creek and good groundwater spots. (Any reservations he had about the white-haired human take-over mage dwindled in light of the fact that she was incredibly polite and useful whenever she hung around. She also only used animal take-overs, and she had a respect for nature still, so she would be a good kid if she stuck on that path.)</p><p>“The pipes aren’t going to break because Ac-nii imbued them with magic,” Wendy revealed, much to Gajeel’s dismay.</p><p>It was true. Trying to sort this plumbing business was a nightmare, but they managed to pool their resources and develop a plan. It wasn’t perfect—not by a long shot. Acnologia used an air-field to treat the pipes Gajeel made, hardening them to prepare them for burial and water flow. Technically, he didn’t <em>imbue </em>them, although that would have been the better option. After all these years, enchantment magic was still lost on him. Perhaps Wendy could return to do a better job when she got better at sky magic.</p><p>This known, when Gajeel scowled at Wendy with utter betrayal, much to the amusement of the other children, he couldn’t help but to chuckle as well.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>After the frame was finished and the walls were made, <em>that’s </em>when everyone started getting new ideas about the make-up of the house.</p><p>“What if we had a room for naps?” Wendy asked.</p><p>Gajeel—the only one on his side in favor of <em>no more renovations</em>—snorted. “That’s yer bedroom, squirt.”</p><p>“Oh! What about a sunroom. Or a really large hot-rock room. Igneel and I used to do that all the time!”</p><p>“Then lay on the roof,” Acnologia droned. Not that it was a terrible idea, but he was of the opinion no spot would be greater than the top of his mountain.</p><p>“Can we have a room on the roof?” Rogue wondered.</p><p>“That’s just another story,” said Gajeel.</p><p>“No, without a roof.”</p><p>“A…sitting area?”</p><p>“Yeah!”</p><p>This project was going to last forever. “If we build it, you better use it.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>The woods <em>were</em> dangerous, and he felt vindicated for worrying over Natsu despite his draconic and demon magic.</p><p>It wasn’t a problem for the most part. There was a plethora of creatures, but most of them minded their own business, and the more aggressive sort weren’t hard for a mage to handle, much less a dragon slayer. But apparently, there were still a few Forest Vulcan left in the area.</p><p>They were smart to avoid him before, keeping to the edges and far from his senses, because their population was about to plummet to fucking <em>zero</em>.</p><p>It was Lisanna’s scream he heard first, though the sound of Natsu’s yelp was soon to follow. They must have been on their way to or from that guild of theirs, but none of that registered as he dropped what he was doing and sprinted, following the sound.</p><p>It was raw instinct. Raw instinct and emotion. Rage? No, not quite. He knew raw rage, and this felt different. Because the only thing Acnologia was aware of was seeing a Vulcan gripping Lisanna by the waist and Natsu slamming into a tree. Time still and his vision blurred, and the Vulcan was dead at his feet.</p><p>For the split second after he came to, the scent of blood on his glands, Acnologia was afraid. He lost control, and after so long of not having sentient reign of his actions, he was justified to fear the result. He swore he would maintain control and he failed, and he knew the kind of damage he could cause in even a second. But when he blinked, Lisanna was safe behind him, gripping his cloak with wide eyes, and Natsu was upright and staring slack jawed.</p><p>He realized that the rush he felt in his veins wasn’t bloodlust, because it was warmer and he still felt it when he saw the kids and he felt it in the flash of fury at the thought of them being hurt.</p><p>Acnologia had never dared to hope that the bloodlust deep in his soul could ever change until that moment.</p><p>“Are you two okay?”</p><p>“Y-yeah, he just surprised us, that’s all,” Lisanna stuttered out, eyes still wide. He hoped his act of aggression didn’t startle them too bad, but he didn’t regret killing that foul thing.</p><p>“That’s was <em>so cool!” </em>Natsu finally shouted. “And <em>fast</em>. How did you do that?!”</p><p>“How fast did you get here?” Lisanna added. “We’re not even close to the house. Not even Mira-nee can move that fast…”</p><p>He sniffed the air and looked around. Huh, they really weren’t. “What were you two doing out here?” he asked instead.</p><p>“Uhh… exploring?”</p><p>“And you didn’t see that thing coming?” he countered, perhaps too accusingly, because Natsu flinched. Acnologia back-peddled with a sigh. “We really need to work on your senses. You too, Lisanna. I know you’ve absorbed animals with better senses than this.”</p><p>“We’ll work really hard at it, Acno!” they both promised. He knew they would, because he saw the fire in their eyes.</p><p>Meanwhile, he began to devise how he would go about removing the Vulcan population from this forest entirely.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Come the beginning of September, when the rains came, nobody wanted to keep building and the ideas waned. It was fine. The space was large enough as it was.</p><p>There was a common room connected to the kitchen, and a large washroom next to the storage room. Getting plumbing to the second story was too much of a hassle. Up there, the kids built their rooms, while Acnologia’s remained on the ground level, sequestered off where he could hopefully be undisturbed for a few days in a row. If such a thing could exist.</p><p>Wendy’s and Charle’s room was closest to the stairs, with a large window allowing her to look onto the forest. Across the hall was Rogue’s room, a tiny but cozy space he planned to fill with blankets. Gajeel’s was plain and simple, but he was already starting to add metal rods that Acnologia suspected was part of some workout regime. Natsu’s and Happy’s room had a skylight large enough to bake the room and its occupants. He hoped the cat didn’t mind.</p><p>There were extra rooms and corners, both on the second and the first floor, produced from miscommunications and indecision alike. They would probably be used for future storage, although one room Acnologia <em>had </em>planned, in case the fifth dragon slayer child, once found, would be staying with them as well.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>The space was livable, and for the most part, finished, but furnishing was a long endeavor. They began with enough to make do with. An oven they built, a table they bought, the bedding they already owned.</p><p>Natsu and Happy had long since moved their belongings to the side (they even used the materials they had been using for their house to build this one) and Gajeel was content with the mat he had acquired for the cave. Wendy and Rogue divided the blankets and pillows among themselves, although Acnologia knew there were nights they slept in each other’s rooms more than not. Sometimes, it was his. Although the more stuff they acquired and squirreled away to their rooms, the more comfortable they became in them.</p><p>And the kids did do their part to produce items. Gajeel made shelves, and lampstands, and somehow, had purchased (Acnologia hoped) a set of kitchen knives, although he kept considering the process of which he would forge that too. Natsu returned with many flyers and pictures and other memorabilia from who-knows-where. Wendy once came back from town with a stuffed rabbit in tow, and Acnologia began to wonder if she would replace Charle with that thing. Charle, for her credit, always straightened the house and fretted over practical things, like plates and silverware.</p><p>Rogue came back with armfuls of frogs that Acnologia had to direct back to the creek, much to the boy’s disappointment. He’ll figure out how to manage a terrarium later.</p><p>Lisanna brought a stack of plates one day, claiming it was a “housewarming gift” and the right thing to do. It was a matching set, too, unlike the chairs the kids had begun to accumulate.</p><p>Soon, the house became fuller. More lived in.</p><p>More…<em>normal.</em></p><p>—o0o—</p><p>The kids went to Magnolia fairly often, sometimes in groups, sometimes all at once. Between Natsu and Lisanna, he figured they were becoming well acquainted with the town and its ways. Which was good, because Acnologia had hoped from the beginning that they would be able to learn more about their humanity than he could ever provide them.</p><p>But on days when everyone was gone, and he was awake, it was strange. Too quiet.</p><p>Acnologia wondered when he got used to the constant noise.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>One day, they all came back with the same thing: Fairy Tail emblems.</p><p>It made sense. Natsu spoke of Fairy Tail with high regard, and he knew Lisanna was a member as well. Wendy had fond memories of her guild, fake though they had been. Gajeel had been part of a guild too, although it was a less pleasant experience; he was apparently still open to the idea, though.</p><p>“Ac-nii, look! It’s just like my old Cait Shelter mark!” Wendy said, showing the blue (bird? fairy?) on her forearm proudly.</p><p>He didn’t actually remember the old one, but he smiled anyway. “I see.”</p><p>“Gajeel and I have matching ones!” Rogue giggled, showing the black mark on his shoulder. On cue, Gajeel laughed and rested his arm on Rogue’s head, the promised matching mark on display.</p><p>Charle didn’t say anything, but he noticed the mark on her back as well.</p><p>It was at this moment that Acnologia realized that in truth, he knew little about mage guilds. He knew they were practitioners of magic, and that they were often hired to deal with strong threats, but beyond that? Nothing. The image he had was worrying when matched with the fact that Wendy and Rogue were both allowed in, despite being six-going-on-seven. “What do you even do there?”</p><p>“Jobs!”</p><p>“Fight.”</p><p>“Magic!”</p><p>The bombardment of answers gave him little to work with.</p><p>“We do jobs with our magic for money,” Wendy supplied, fairly helpfully. “Like blowing away leaves! Or looking for lost cats.”</p><p>“Or adult commissions, like fighting monsters,” Gajeel added, probably not wanting to be lumped in with whatever example Wendy gave. Though hers eased him, because they didn’t sound overly dangerous for children.</p><p>“And you get money for this?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Natsu nodded enthusiastically. “Completing jobs is pride for Fairy Tail! We’re going to be the best mages ever!”</p><p>They continued to babble on about the guild. There were a lot of mixed reports. Wendy spoke of how nice everyone was, and Gajeel mentioned that the bar fight was epic. Acnologia had his misgivings, but seeing them happy and productive? That was enough.</p><p>“Hey Acno,” said Rogue suddenly, shyly. “You should join too. If you want.”</p><p>…what?</p><p>Acnologia laughed. He felt a little bad, but it was hilarious. “Me? A guild full of people? Sorry, but that doesn’t sound likely.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Haaaa, Acno has a lot of confidence in that statement there. It would be a shame if something were to <i>prove him wrong</i>. Mwahahahaha....</p><p>Also, as I have set a precedent for myself that this beginning fic will be entirely in Acnologia's POV, I feel like I brush over a lot, but I am interested in how the kids interact with each other and grow up, though I hope I can imply a lot. Future fics will absolutely be in multiple POVs though. And the drabbles/extras, of course. </p><p>Anywho, lemme know what y'all think, and see you in two weeks. Hopefully finals have not killed me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Of Dragons and Fairies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia joins Fairy Tail.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whoo! Sorry I had to take that L last week and just post a drabble. Finals were, indeed, quite rough. But! I'm on the other side, and to celebrate, an effing long chapter. A titular chapter, if you will, because this is in fact what I named this arc, though I decided to start the series off by its name instead.</p><p>Something to note: I messed up my timeline, slightly, and I realized that I referred to Laxus being S-Class when he is in fact, not yet. Since this fic happens throughout the year X778 and Laxus doesn't become S-Class until the *end*. I have fixed all mentions of that that I had thus far.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“’Cause when you’re looking for me</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’ll be the chill in the breeze</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’ll be the foam on the seas</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’ll be the love you need</em>
  <br/>
  <em>That follows you home</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So you won’t feel all alone</em>
  <br/>
  <em>and let this emptiness inside you, fade away.”</em>
</p><p>—Season to Attack, “Where We End Up”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Why am I doing this?”</p><p>Whether he muttered his question to the sky or to the offending guild hall in question was a mystery even to him. Acnologia knew the answer, however. He happily carried on with life for nearly a month and a half after the kids all joined the guild, keeping to the woods or even the cave, if he decided to go back and forth. The kids could have their social interaction, but Acnologia was content to remain a mystery to the human world. He survived for four hundred years this way, and he could go a hundred more.</p><p>Until he quickly ran into one glaring problem: Jewel.</p><p>Acnologia was feeding six additional mouths now, including Happy and Charle because Happy at least ate enough for a human being, and dragon slayers had monstrous appetites on their own. All the activity the kids were doing in that guild of theirs stirred it up, and at this rate, the Vulcan weren’t going to be the only extinction within the forest. As for money, Acnologia had enough to pawn off to cover the costs of building the house, but there wasn’t much else beyond that. Sure, he had picked up a thing or two, but Acnologia never gathered resources with this in mind. It wasn’t a trust fund or anything.</p><p>He wasn’t about to sit there and make the kids earn their own living, not at this age. Acnologia may have had absolutely no childhood to speak of, but he knew enough about what it <em>should </em>be: relaxing, at the very least. Though even with the small jobs they took, he knew they made some decent Jewel.</p><p>Joining the guild was not the worst idea. It would give him money to beat up monsters, and truth be told, that was the only skillset he had. It would also give him opportunity to train with the kids in hands-on situations. And shadow them without actually shadowing them on more dangerous ventures. There was also the bonus of using the—few—benefits of human interaction to pool together better sources of tracking down the fifth dragon slayer child. He had gotten lucky finding Natsu and Rogue, and Gajeel had been the one overheard conversation from his sky-bound patrols that led to anything, and that was probably because Gajeel had not aimed for subtlety. Mostly, immediately, he needed the money to feed those bottomless pits.</p><p>It was with these rationales that Acnologia faced the guild hall. It was early morning, and gratefully not busy. Gajeel told him that they ran a bar and food service on the side for the public, but it was mostly guild business in the morning, with the guild members lounging about in the evening. It gave him a window of less-stimulation to aim for.</p><p>It was as far as he had gotten, unfortunately. “How uh… How do I do this?” he asked awkwardly, much to the utter delight of Wendy and Rogue. Natsu and Gajeel had already taken jobs—Gajeel by himself, and Natsu with Happy—so it left the younger two to walk him through the process like the senile beast he was. It would have hurt his pride if he wasn’t too tired to presently care.</p><p>“Um, just go in and ask?” Wendy guessed, like she didn’t just go through the process. Granted, Natsu and Lisanna would have both been there to buffer. He didn’t know if her suggestion was merely unhelpful or evidence of a woefully underwhelming process.</p><p>“Ms. Enno will help if Master isn’t there,” Rogue supplied.</p><p>He had no idea who Enno was, but he nodded anyway. Wendy and Rogue were each the type to be overly unsure of themselves, so he didn’t expect much in the way of details, but it was better than nothing. He was mindful to accept thanks for whatever they offered to boost their confidence.</p><p>Whatever. It was time to rip out the arrow and be a human, for once.</p><p>Acnologia walked into the building, aware that both Wendy and Rogue were trailing behind him. Whether it was because of that, or merely his presence, he earned a few stray stares as he entered. There were merely curious, though, and most peeled away as he neared the bar, where a lone woman stood behind. Enno, perhaps? She was straightening up the dishes and busied herself in a matter that seemed productive, so he was left to assume she had some duty in the guild hall that the people sitting at the tables didn’t have.</p><p>She looked up when he approached, doing a poor job at hiding her surprise when she registered his appearance. Did he look that startling? Was it a lack of this era’s fashion? He never cared before, and he still didn’t care, but this reaction was getting old. At least he usually meant no one heckled him—which was to their benefit, surely.</p><p>“Can I help you?” she finally asked.</p><p>“How do I join the guild?” It somehow hurt worse to say it aloud.</p><p>“Oh!” The woman seemed to lighten at this. “That’s simple. You just need to ask Master.”</p><p>“That’s it? No test, or anything?” They really just let anyone walk in, huh? He hoped the guildmaster at least had some sort of vetting process, if only to ensure the safety of current members.</p><p>“No. Anyone is free to join Fairy Tail, so long as they really want to. Wait here, I’ll go ask Master.”</p><p>Acnologia had no idea how long it would take, but he was left to assume that the guildmaster was inevitably a busy person, especially when he heard the woman’s footsteps go farther into the building. He ended up sitting at the barstool, absent-mindedly pulling Rogue into his lap when he struggled to reach the adjacent stool, made for adult legs; Wendy bounced up on it with only minor difficulty, though, with a burst of wind. She had a job flyer in her hands, and she laid it on the table between her and Rogue.</p><p>“Look! They want someone to pick strawberries!” she exclaimed excitedly. “We can do that.”</p><p>Rogue squinted at the print. “Um, it says something about…flies?”</p><p>“Oh.” Wendy tilted her head. “It says…there are…butterflies? Um…”</p><p>Acnologia had left them to their guild business, but he spied the paper out of both curiosity and concern. “It says that a farmer’s strawberry field is being plagued by giant blue flies,” he explained. “Sounds like it could be glucosites. They feed off of sugars and get bigger. Generally harmless by themselves, but they’re hard to get rid of in numbers. Their bites can cause welts, I think.” They were pests to gardeners everywhere. One of the few favors Porlyusica asked of him was to deal with some in her berry bushes. They didn’t hurt a dragon like him, but they were annoying, for sure.</p><p>This also brought another thing to Acno’s attention: reading comprehension. Admittedly, he didn’t consider it before, but Wendy and Rogue were both young, and even though this Anna person, along with their dragons, taught them something, it wasn’t a full education. He should probably figure out a way to make sure they finished learning.</p><p>“Sounds like a fine job for young mages,” a new voice laughed.</p><p>Acnologia realized that he had ceased to pay attention to the coming of the guildmaster in the midst of paying attention to Wendy and Rogue, and it wasn’t until he spoke that he connected the approaching footsteps to the diminutive man.</p><p>Mavarok, he believed. His smile was wide and genuine but when he focused on Acnologia, it shifted to a more strained version, as was natural; Acnologia was not the type to invoke joy in people—unless they were young dragon slayers, apparently. “So, you’re looking to join Fairy Tail, eh? You’re a mage?”</p><p>This was going to be a strange interview process. Technically, this was a first ‘interview’ since he presented himself as a candidate for becoming a dragon slayer. Definitely the first in a while, and the first he would apparently compose with a child in his lap.</p><p>He also realized that the runes on his arm were problematic. They completely hid his magic signature, which was convenient to go unnoticed, but strange when he was applying to a mage guild. Acnologia wasn’t about to level the place, though.</p><p>He chose to merely ignore it.</p><p>“I am.” Acnologia raised his hand and let some air magic flow about it demonstratively. “Air magic, mostly.”</p><p>“Air magic, eh? Oh, and you’re a…doctor? Know healing magic, do you?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>At this awkward pause, Rogue nodded as well. “He knows medicine, too,” he brought up shyly. “And it didn’t taste terrible.”</p><p>“Ah, does he now?” The guildmaster was considerably more gracious in the presence of the kids. “Did Acnologia help you out too, lad?”</p><p>Rogue nodded again. “Yeah. When I was sick.”</p><p>At this, the guildmaster looked thoughtful. Acnologia was willing to believe he doubted his stretched tale of being a doctor both to Laxus and to Natsu, which would have been smart to doubt.</p><p>“Ac-nii makes really good stew, too,” Wendy brought up. “Bone broth is also good medicine, but it’s yummy.”</p><p>Acnologia could see the surprise shift into recognition on the man’s face. “Are you Wendy’s and Rogue’s caretaker I’ve been hearing about?”</p><p>“Yes.” The answer came easier this time; more naturally. “Gajeel and Natsu too. And Happy and Charle for that matter.” Skies, there were a lot of children.</p><p>The guildmaster’s eyebrows rose. “Natsu and Happy?”</p><p>Oh, that was probably a new development to him. Acnologia merely shrugged, because yes, Natsu and Happy did spend the least amount of time there, if only because they were the most recent additions, and Natsu loved being at the guild. Yet, him and Lisanna were hanging out more around their neck of the woods recently. “They have a room upstairs, so it counts.”</p><p>“He snores as loud as Gajeel does,” Rogue supplied.</p><p>“It’s true.” If Acnologia wasn’t paranoid about their wellbeing, he would have cast a sound-block on his room from the beginning—he did dampen it, however. They really did snore like an avalanche.</p><p>At this, the guildmaster laughed. “Sounds like them, alright. Anyway, Acnologia, was it? Why do you want to join Fairy Tail?”</p><p>There were a few different ways he could answer, though he got the implication that the master wanted to know why <em>Fairy Tail </em>and not some random establishment, if this was about earning Jewel. In that case, the answer was somewhat simple. “The kids like it here.”</p><p>His answer was accepted readily. “Welcome to Fairy Tail!”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>His first reaction to the guild mark—the idea of it, rather—was discomfort.</p><p>There was hardly anything to it, especially when arcane marks flowed readily on his skin, but the idea of being stamped left a bad taste in his mouth. He hoped Gajeel didn’t have the same negative reaction, because this was uncomfortable.</p><p>It made sense, though. They wore it as a badge of pride, and a quick taste of the magic the stamp resonated proved it was easily removable, even to a basic mage. It was a choice, not a brand. He only needed to repeat that to himself.</p><p>There was also the problem of being a dragon. He was good at evading perception, but in case his form was revealed, he didn’t want to drag the guild down unnecessarily.</p><p>Acnologia thought about the shoulder, if only because it was an obvious choice—one the kids nearly all took—but he came back around to the dragon predicament.</p><p>So he stuck it underneath instead.</p><p>It was disconcerting, because underneath his arm was one of his few sensitive spots, as a human and dragon alike; yet, it was fitting. This entire ordeal was proof of how he was willing to do even the most uncomfortable things for the sake of those children. He had a weak spot for them, but he would ensure he guarded it fiercely.</p><p>A light blue fairy rested among the arcane marks that day onward.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>When Natsu and Gajeel both returned, he was encouraged to take his first job. Acnologia knew some of these were far, and he would have to get used to leaving the kids alone for blocks of time. Maybe he could convince Lisanna to stay over to ensure that Natsu wouldn’t eat something weird again.</p><p>They’ll…they’ll be fine. This was no different from when he slept. Besides, the guild would be of some help if something happened. Most likely.</p><p>He <em>was </em>getting restless. Hunting those Vulcan proved how stiff he was getting. A good workout would be nice.</p><p>Acnologia stared at the job board blankly, however. It was both confusing and underwhelming. He finally gave up and asked Enno her opinion instead. “What’s the hardest thing you have?”</p><p>“Excuse me? You mean, alcohol?”</p><p>“Skies, no.” How did he word this? “The— the jobs. All I see are wild animals and domestic jobs. What’s the hardest fight you have?”</p><p>She laughed. “Oh, well, the <em>hardest </em>things are reserved for S-Class mages, but I’m sure there’s something on that board. Although, the harder ones will still need a team, most likely.”</p><p>He fought the urge to sigh. He was going to have to put up with dealing with being underestimated, wasn’t he? It wasn’t their fault they didn’t know the true strength of dragons, but damn, it was annoying already.</p><p>“Fine. Just give me your best recommendation.”</p><p>He took the one she said was the hardest and that called for several wizards. It was just a pack of dire wolves, though, so he knew it would be no problem.</p><p>Surprise, it <em>wasn’t</em>. The townspeople questioned how it did it, too, but he was both faster and stronger than the whole pack, and their magic resistance was sad. It just took a whirlwind and his claws to make quick work of them.</p><p>So much for his workout.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Acnologia wandered to the guild hall without intent of finding yet another droll job, but rather, to find Laxus. The boy had apparently been on a job himself, and even though Acnologia had been preoccupied with things like building houses and figuring out his life as a mage, he <em>did </em>promise Laxus training. He needed to help out the younger ones with senses training anyway, and if Laxus needed that as well, he was going to be efficient and do it all at once.</p><p>Laxus wasn’t there—the lack of lightning thrumming was evidence without asking—but the other kids were, and they were…arm wrestling?</p><p>There was a crowd of kids gathered around, but he saw above them without problem. It was Natsu and some dark haired kid that tasted of frost, their skinny arms straining against the other and intensity in their eyes.</p><p>“Oh, hey Acno!” Gajeel greeted, a grin stuck on his face.</p><p>“What are they doing?”</p><p>“Fighting.”</p><p>Lisanna, who was next to Gajeel, huffed. “No. They were fighting earlier, but Levy and I suggested they do this instead.”</p><p>The white-haired girl seemed more irate than usual. At his questioning raise of his brow, Gajeel filled in and answered, with no less mirth than before. “They tumbled into their table and spilled food all over ‘em,” he explained. “It was hilarious.”</p><p>A small blunette smacked Gajeel on the shoulder, but he kept laughing.</p><p>“Ha! Got you!” Natsu screamed triumphantly, his arm pinning the other boy’s.</p><p>“Na-uh! You put fire in your palm, you cheating bastard!”</p><p>“What you say droopy-eyes? Can’t take the heat?”</p><p>“We said no magic!”</p><p>“That wasn’t magic, ice-hands!”</p><p>Within seconds, they leaped over the table and starting swinging, tumbling across the furniture and squawking like angered cats. Acnologia thought Natsu and Gajeel had a penchant for fighting, but he realized that all of their tussles were mild compared to this.</p><p>The other kids and adults that had gathered around simply gave the two a wide berth and grinned in fondness, unconcerned about the carnage they were wreaking. If it was his house, Acno would have thrown them outside by now, but he didn’t know the protocol in the guild building, so he left it alone. Lisanna and the other girl were the only ones who seemed truly exasperated at the fight, though he knew that if Wendy and Rogue were here, they would probably side with Lisanna as well.</p><p>Enno seemed disgruntled, too, actually, but she closed her eyes and ignored the cat fight. She did notice Acnologia, though, and sent a questioning gaze his way. “You’re back?” she asked, incredulously. “That was the fourth A-rank one in a week!”</p><p>“Oh, yeah, here’s the guild-contribution.”</p><p>She numbly took the Jewel off the counter. “You did those so quickly! Who— who did you take with you?”</p><p>“…nobody?”</p><p>The woman worked her jaw in disbelief. Acnologia didn’t bother pushing the subject, though; as long as he got the job, it didn’t matter at this point—although he was still bored. He had heard some rumors of jobs getting more involved and even historical, so maybe he would find something interesting just yet. Perhaps he could take the kids on one and do hands-on training. That could be interesting.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“Hit me.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Acnologia finally found Laxus, and the otherwise busy teen agreed to the training session and arranged it quite quickly. They went to the cabin—the ‘dragon residence’ as the kids were beginning to fondly refer to it as, thanks to Lisanna—and met in the circular clearing nearby.</p><p>He honestly didn’t know how to proceed about this “training” business. Each element was different, and Acnologia didn’t pretend to know everything; his expertise lay primarily in magic itself. He also didn’t know to gauge Laxus’ magic without witnessing it, and feeling it was the best way.</p><p>Laxus was hesitant, however, his face screwing in discomfort. “I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”</p><p>“Oh, you won’t.”</p><p>He bristled. “I know I haven’t been taught, but my magic isn’t <em>that bad</em>—!”</p><p>Shit, he offended him. Or activated his anxiety. Maybe both, judging by his heartbeat. Acno waved the statement off. “I’m sure it isn’t. I’m saying that the chances of hurting <em>me </em>without me doing anything about it is slim. Trust me. I just want to see what you got; if it gets too much, I can stop it, and so can you.”</p><p>“O…kay.”</p><p>Laxus took a deep breath. Acnologia focused his senses on the magic flow, noting how the breath was more steadying than to gather ether, although magic gathered some by default. That was something to work on, for sure. Mages might rely on their magic containers, but dragons thrived off of the environment just as much, if not more.</p><p>He trained well, though, because his magic container was readily available to him and full. Acnologia half-expected him to roar, but his magic diverged into each fist instead. <em>“Lightning Halberd!” </em>The two paths of his magic reconvened into a spear-like bolt, which flew through the air, losing some charge to the air, before colliding into Acnologia’s chest.</p><p>Acnologia let the first bolt hit him instead of eating it, wanting to see how the collision fared. It was powerful, a good form of concentrated electricity, and when it struck, the electricity traveled over his skin before it lost energy. It was too bad Laxus stopped feeding it before launch—it would have been more potent. Lightning would also feed off the electricity of the air quite well, given the chance.</p><p>Laxus dropped his fists, staring with wide eyes when Acnologia didn’t dodge, like he no doubt expected him to.</p><p>“Not bad,” he told him, puffing a small wave of air around him to fling the static off his clothes. “Good magic concentration, but you stopped feeding it early. Throw another one just like it, I want to see something.”</p><p>“You…” Laxus gaped. “Did it even hit you?”</p><p>“It did.”</p><p>“But—” Laxus cut himself off, before slowly forming another one. Acnologia could tell by his gaze that he was concentrating more—not as much on the magic, but Acnologia himself. Paying closer attention.</p><p>This one was nearly identical to the last in formation, but this one he ate. The lightning pulled apart easier than he expected, unfortunately—it was close to pure lightning, but it still had that raw magic element that humans tended to rely on without realizing. It was what he suspected though: Laxus’ diet was lacking in raw lightning.</p><p>If Laxus was gaping before, then he somehow doubled the expression. “You…<em>what?” </em></p><p>“Dragons slayers eat the elements. Typically just their own, but any they can draw from any ether, provided it’s not completely processed into something else. Not that I would suggest you try that yet though—it’s dangerous to intake too much without the means to process it into your own magic.”</p><p>“What…<em>are </em>you?” he whispered, still dumbstruck.</p><p>“I don’t suppose you’re going to accept ‘dragon slayer’ as the answer, are you?”</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Acnologia stifled a sigh. He figured this would come up eventually, but he also knew that this would be a harder thing to explain to Laxus without the resolute knowledge of dragons the others had. He also didn’t want the rest of the guild to know; it would be trouble for him and for them as well.</p><p>“How about this—come over for dinner, and I’ll tell you some about myself. I don’t want to say anything in front of your puppies.”</p><p>“But— my <em>what?”</em></p><p>Oh? Laxus didn’t notice? To his credit, they just got closer partway through that conversation. They certainly were too far to hear <em>them </em>yet, but Acnologia wasn’t about to mess with that. “Those mages that follow you around. Here—a lesson in senses. Close your eyes and focus on sound. Those crunching leaves are human. And they keep whispering.”</p><p>It took Laxus a moment, but once he began to focus, he must have heard it as well. His shoulders drooped. “Sorry about them. Freed…worries.” His sigh was long-suffering. “A lot.”</p><p>“He’s that green haired rune mage, right?” There was something else about him too, but Acnologia didn’t bother paying attention to everyone, especially with how chaotic the guild always was. He did notice some things, though. Like the fact that wherever Laxus went, that green haired kid followed, with maybe that girl and the guy with the helmet. (Something about the latter’s magic bothered him, though, but he generally never stuck around in the open, and Acnologia hadn’t sought him out.)</p><p>“Yeah. I, uh… I ran across him on a job, once. I invited him to Fairy Tail, because he looked like he could use it, but he’s…very attached. Bickslow only encourages it because he thinks it’s funny.”</p><p>He couldn’t help but to laugh a little at the imagery. “Do you want to talk to them, or should we move?”</p><p>“They might keep following us. Sorry, I know you asked for this to be private.”</p><p>Acnologia shrugged. “It’s fine.” He could tell Laxus wanted to continue, and Acnologia was in the mood to stick it to those teens for trying to spy anyway. “We’ll move. Hold on.”</p><p>He took Laxus by the back of the shirt and jumped, smiling only slightly when the composed teen gave a yelp. Yeah. That surprised everyone.</p><p>Using an air current to carry them further, they landed about a mile north. Laxus stared at him like he wasn’t human.</p><p>Which was absolutely correct.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>It didn’t take long for the kids to ask him to go on a job with them. Wendy and Rogue, especially, had jumped at the bit, since there were many jobs they couldn’t go on without older supervision.</p><p>They found something easy. It was just a request to watch to find the home of some lost puppy, but it was in another town. It sounded very boring, but it made the kids happy to feel useful.</p><p>“Sun’s almost down. We can leave then,” he sighed, resigned to the fact that they had him around their little fingers.</p><p>“Um.” Wendy shifted. “Don’t we take the train?”</p><p>Acnologia laughed. It was a good laugh. That one caught him off guard just enough to be hilarious.</p><p>Wendy and Rogue only looked confused. Charle raised her brow.</p><p>“The train is more dignified than flying around at night, you know,” she sniffed.</p><p>“And wouldn’t it be…faster?” Rogue asked. “We’ve used it before, and while it’s not as fast as flying, there’s a lot of trains.”</p><p>Acnologia blinked, dumbfounded. Were they really unbothered by… “The train doesn’t bother you?” he questioned.</p><p>“No…?”</p><p>Oh. Their baby senses must protect them from that agony. (It was further proof that they needed refinement.)</p><p>“Oh. Well. Enjoy it while it lasts.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Fairy Tail was full of…interesting people.</p><p>Acnologia wasn’t sure how he felt about the majority of them, and he still hadn’t bothered to get to know many, but thanks to his new proximity to them, his uncanny hearing, and the fact that the kids knew some better, Acnologia knew enough to start to have opinions.</p><p>Makarov was sometimes amiable, and sometimes grating. It depended on how drunk he was. For the most part, he kept the ship afloat, and he was surprisingly tolerant. At least, to everyone but Laxus. He never witnessed the interaction, and he never asked, but Laxus was tight-lipped about sharing details of his magic with his grandfather, so Acnologia never brought it up. He also got the feeling that the old man wasn’t entirely trusting of Acnologia, but he <em>did </em>kill his son, so Acnologia felt it was warranted. It wasn’t something he was wanting to prod at, however, especially since Makarov didn’t have any proof.</p><p>Enno was polite but often exasperated when asked of too much—which wasn’t a lot. If she was sullen, she was not pleasurable to work with, and something was happening between her and Macao that sounded terse. She was also nursing. The smell was easy to miss amid the alcohol, but he caught it second meeting. Why she was working as much as she was—he didn’t know. She didn’t seem the motherly type, and maybe that was the problem. He felt sorry for the kid.</p><p>Macao vacillated wildly between alcoholic scum and sensible. It depended on the conversation he had or was having with Enno. Acnologia heard a few, but he desperately tried not to.</p><p>Wakaba was always with him, and he was just as idiotic and a raging alcoholic. Did he mention an idiot? He was woefully unremarkable, and Acnologia only knew his name because Macao and Enno were often loud and often present, and he was usually there with Macao after.</p><p>There were other adults, but they came and went, and Acnologia barely learned any of their names. He never had a reason to.</p><p>There were also a surprising number of kids, and these he now knew the best, because if they hadn’t made contact with him personally, his kids knew them.</p><p>First, there were the ones who were sensible. Levy was tiny and shy, much like Wendy, and that was why they got along, though she was Lisanna and Natsu’s age. She was soft-spoken unless she was dishing out whatever Gajeel gave her back to him two-fold. She was a good kid. She was also one of the few who actually got <em>invited </em>to the house, and not one of the ones who tried to sneak in. Or just tried to find it.</p><p>(There were the two boys that followed Levy frequently, too, but Acnologia didn’t remember their names.)</p><p>Erza was older, closer to Gajeel’s age, and she was one of the few who tried to reign the others in. She was stiff, and sometimes just as violent, but she meant well. He also found out that she was responsible for teaching Natsu how to read (better), as well as helping out Wendy and Rogue now, which earned her favor in his eyes. She was also startlingly—<em>unnervingly</em>—familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was probably pure coincidence, so he did his best to discard the sensation.</p><p>On the subject of teenagers, there were Laxus’ puppies.</p><p>Freed and Evergreen were both a little older than Erza and Gajeel. Evergreen had the same disposition of a cat—she tried to act aloof, but she was one of the ones who became fixated on Laxus, trying to wiggle her way into his cluster. Freed was definitely worse. He acted like he had a life-debt to the lightning dragon slayer, and he seemed to get terribly anxious when he was apart for too long. Acnologia wasn’t sure if it was misplaced obsession, or if he actually <em>was </em>anxious. Aside from that, he was smart. Acnologia saw some of his runes, and he had a penchant for writing them. There was also the matter of his heritage, which Acnologia finally placed, but he didn’t advertise it, so Acnologia said nothing.</p><p>Bickslow was harder for Acnologia to trust, but that was only on account of his magic. Laxus was actually the most comfortable with him, and they were about the same age. Apparently, they had been friends for a while. The teen seemed genuine, though, despite bearing seith magic. He was also incredibly careful, covering his eyes completely in public places. Acnologia saw him without his helmet once, and seeing the blue mark on his face, he realized the boy’s magic was manifested, not learned. It was easier to trust him after knowing that.</p><p>Cana was also Natsu’s age, but she was more laid back. Very laid back. She was usually the one cheering on fights, and even though she was still a child, she was already stealing sips of alcohol. It was thanks to her that he worried about the drinking habits of his kids; alcohol raged harsh war on the senses of dragons, and he had standards on the matter.</p><p>Gray was…violent. At least with Natsu, but that was mutual. He was an angry individual, and the rivalry between the two had more bad blood than with Natsu and Gajeel. Once, he said something about demons being evil, and Natsu was silent for hours. Acnologia was not fond of Gray.</p><p>He wasn’t his <em>least </em>favorite in the guild, however, because at least Gray made an effort to be a decent person. His least favorite was definitely Lisanna’s sister, Mirajane.</p><p>Her older brother was unremarkable and quiet, and he was rarely worth Acnologia’s attention. Mirajane, however, was loud and mean, and worst yet, a take-over mage that absorbed demons. She was a prime example of why he had disdain for the magic, especially when she was unapologetic about it.</p><p>Like now, when someone (who, he didn’t know; he wasn’t paying attention) had asked Mirajane where she got some new power, and she answered with derision.</p><p>“What? They’re just demons,” she said. “Not like they have feelings or anything. They’re powerful, and that’s what they’re good for.”</p><p>The otherwise mundane atmosphere immediately tensed. Half of the nearby participants were only exasperated, or even agreeable, unaware of how the words cut deep. The other half were a mixed of horrified or angry. Gajeel, for instance, was moments away from punching her, and while Acnologia was <em>incredibly</em> proud, he feared the response would bring too much attention to the matter, because Natsu had lost all fight and was trying to make himself small behind Acnologia, and he had no desire to see that state persist.</p><p>Lisanna also stood in front of Natsu, clearly protective, but it wasn’t obvious when she pointed that disappointed look at her sister. “Mira-nee…”</p><p>Her sister laughed. “It’s true, though. Do you feel bad for the baby animals and the beasts, too?”</p><p>Acnologia was tired, and frankly irritated, and if he never had to deal with this brat again, it would be too soon. The only reason he held back at all were for Natsu’s and Lisanna’s own sakes, but stars, it was <em>close</em>. “And you’re just a human,” he snapped, standing up now as a sign for the others to leave. “In fact, you’re going to be more demon than not, one day, so watch your tongue on what you say about yourself.” And your guildmates.</p><p>Nobody spoke of it the rest of the night. Lisanna came home with them, and she even spent the night on the couch. Acnologia didn’t blame her. He was just glad that Natsu loosened again after that.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>There was someone new in the guild-house when Acnologia entered.</p><p>People he didn’t know came and went all the time, but the magical presence this time was immense enough to catch his attention immediately.</p><p>Acnologia had come back from yet another droll job, and yet another dead-end regarding the missing dragon slayer child. It had been Wakaba, actually, who thought he heard something about it a few towns over, but there was only a (badly interpreted) exhibition about the history of dragons on display when he arrived. No child.</p><p>Sting was only six—maybe seven, now, if he was as old as Rogue. Acnologia worried how he was faring out there, because he needed some sort of support to survive. A good support. Rogue was evidence of how one could slip into a bad situation and not have any power to change it, and he feared the same for Sting. There was another line of thinking that Acnologia’s paranoid mind could follow, but that one was even worse.</p><p>However, the magic signature was enough to distract him from these thoughts. It had been a while since he felt something this strong. It was no Zeref or alpha dragon level, of course, but it might be on par with a lesser dragon, and that alone was an impressive feat. The being’s magic container was practically their entire body—which was how Acnologia spotted him quickly.</p><p>It was a man with auburn hair and a cloak that was arguably more torn than some of his. (Not the current one Acno had, because Rogue had gifted him a nicer one after some job he took with Gajeel and Levy.) The magic was nearly demon-like in nature (something collapsive, that he didn’t immediately recognize), but he was still very much human, judging by scent.</p><p>He was also drunk.</p><p>The man was at the counter, and Acnologia approached both it and him with curiosity and caution. He had no idea how to address this, or if he would at all, but he at least wanted a better sense of his magic.</p><p>Enno spotted him first. Like many instances, she regarded him with shock. “You! You took that Onibus job, didn’t you? The one with the missing people and livestock?”</p><p>“Yes.” It was a regisvine underneath the ground. It was also the closest job he had taken in a while to being interesting; he hadn’t realized regisvines still existed. However, it was an easy fix once he located the damn thing. Fortunately, some of the people who had gone were still alive, trapped underground but still breathing thanks to the plant itself. That had been the difficult part. Acnologia stayed behind to help ensure some of the victims got a dose of oxygen to supply their deficiency; it would have left a bad taste in his mouth to leave them when he was one of the few who could help. “Here’s the guild portion, by the way.”</p><p>“That job was going to be moved to S-Class. Too many people failed or went missing. I— I didn’t get the memo about it until after I heard you left.”</p><p>“Hm.” He supposed it was harder than some of the others, but he didn’t understand why Enno was making a big deal out of it. It was done now.</p><p>“S’class job?” The man who Acnologia came to investigate slurred. “You a s’class mage?” The man blinked. “Who’re you anyway?”</p><p>Enno stiffened. Some other adults peaked warily at the scene.</p><p>“That’s Gildarts,” she whispered to him. “He just came back from a slew of quests. He’s the most powerful mage in the guild, and he’s very drunk right now. Ignore him, he might accidentally hurt you.”</p><p>Oh, that was interesting. Acnologia was on guard, yes, but he also knew that the majority of humans’ idea about strength was woefully underestimated.</p><p>“I’m not.” He still barely knew how that distinction was made. “I’m Acnologia. I’m new.”</p><p>“Gildarts Clive!” he chirped. At least he was a happy-drunk. “You’re strong, eh? Taking almost s’class jobs. You wanna’ spar?”</p><p>“No. You could get hurt.” Especially in this state, yikes.</p><p>The man, Gildarts, laughed like it was the funniest joke in the world. He stood and wiped his chin. “Tell’ya’what. If’ya take a punch from’me, you’ll be s’class noooo problem.”</p><p>Was that how that classification worked? Combat? It was like how the Dragon King distinction was won, so it made sense, though he got the distinct feeling the man was out of his mind at the moment. It wasn’t a conscious choice, nor a smart one.</p><p>But Acnologia was also curious. There was a large part of him that wanted to taste this man’s strength, if only in a single, drunken punch. It had been so long since a fight lasted long enough for him to feel adrenaline, and nowadays, the only adrenaline he felt was fear for the kids, and that wasn’t preferred. At all.</p><p>“So what, just take your punch?”</p><p>Enno tried to stop him. “Don’t, he’s—!”</p><p>Gildarts swung.</p><p>Acnologia knew instinctively that it wasn’t a full-powered swing, because the man was barely functionable, but he was also correct in his initial observation that the man’s entire body was imbued with magic, his intake large enough to both handle and require that strain. It was for this reason that Acnologia took a proper stance and blocked the punch without the nonchalance he usually could afford. The impact resounded through his body, leaving him impressed. He had nearly forgotten the feeling of impact, his draconic disposition typically thicker than most forces could meddle with. It was definitely a form of destruction magic—the destruction <em>of </em>magic, to be precise. The thrumming of Acnologia’s effort made him grin.</p><p>The sound of crashing glass, and Gildarts’ own wide eyes, made him turn his attention to the side.</p><p>It was light at night, so there weren’t many people there, but the guild watched with either pure disbelief or confusion. Enno, the dropper of the glass, gaped. “You…how?”</p><p>Gildarts blinked out of some of his intoxication. “Huh.”</p><p>“…what?”</p><p>Acnologia was certainly among the confused. Sure, the guy was strong, but this was far from this building’s first exchanging of friendly fists.</p><p>“You blocked it.” Gildarts blinked. “I usually have trouble holding back, but…”</p><p>“But what?”</p><p>The stares were starting to make him uncomfortable.</p><p>“You’re an interesting guy, Acnologia.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Acnologia had already woken up, but the sound of Laxus in the common room made him blink the rest of the drowsiness away. Sure, Laxus came by from time to time, but the kid barely knew how to take it easy, and he generally only came when he was bothered by something or had a pressing question.</p><p>He exited his room and crossed the kitchen, half-expecting something to be wrong. However, Laxus was just sitting there, with Gajeel upside down on a couch and Natsu and Happy pestering him nearby, with Wendy and Rogue watching from the floor.</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>Natsu blinked. “Oh right! You were asleep. They announced the S-Class trial candidates today!”</p><p>“S-Class candidates?” So, it wasn’t a fighting thing, strictly speaking. Figured that humans would be boring.</p><p>“Laxus got nominated!” Wendy said.</p><p>Laxus had been at the guild for a long time, and even though he was still learning how to utilize his dragon slayer elements, he had some of the most raw-magic supply of the guild—himself, the master, and that Gildarts guy notwithstanding. It made sense. “So why is he on the couch looking like someone spit on his puppy?”</p><p>“I’m not upset,” Laxus tried to defend. “Really. And what kind of saying is that anyway?”</p><p>“Do people not say that anymore?”</p><p>“Don’t think so…”</p><p>“Ah. Now, stop deflecting the subject.”</p><p>Laxus sank further into the couch. “I’m happy, I swear. It’s just…this is the second time I was nominated. I didn’t make it last year, but I <em>swear </em>I was ready then.”</p><p>“So what, it’s a test?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Natsu pumped his fist. “It’s a super awesome magic challenge they do to see if anyone makes S-Class every year.”</p><p>“Gramps picks the candidates and the challenge,” Laxus continued. “It’s different every year. I… I thought I made it last time, but he failed me.”</p><p> “You’re worried yer’ old man grades ya’ harsher ‘cause you’re his kid?” Gajeel prodded.</p><p>“Am I that obvious?” Laxus lamented.</p><p>Gajeel shrugged. “Levy said somethin’ about it, but she’s good at reading people’s minds and shit.”</p><p>“Great.”</p><p>Laxus really did look bummed for someone with a good opportunity. He was much stronger now than he had been only months prior, too, because he was finally learning the merits of intaking magic from his surroundings mid-battle. Acnologia hummed. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re hiding here. Unless you want to train.”</p><p>“Well, I <em>do</em>, but, um…” Laxus scratched the back of his neck. “I just needed someplace quiet. Freed keeps trying to… I don’t know, butter me up or something, and the rest of the guild is just being annoying.”</p><p>Ah. He was being smothered. And Acnologia didn’t need him to say it to get that he didn’t want to be near his grandfather at the moment.</p><p>“Couch is yours.” He was really going to need to put a bed in one of the spare rooms, though Lisanna did give the couch high praise. “When’s the trial?”</p><p>“A week.”</p><p>Maybe he should get that bed sooner.</p><p>“We can train, then. But I’m sure you’ll be fine—especially if you can learn how to roar without blowing your lungs out.”</p><p>Laxus merely faceplanted into the side of the couch and groaned.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>Laxus passed the trial.</p><p>He left after fretting for a week, Bickslow in tow as his non-S-class partner. He returned to the guild an S-Class mage.</p><p>Acnologia was just damn proud of him for finally learning his roar.</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>“Heeeeeey, Acno.”</p><p>Acnologia wasn’t at the guild hall, so he was a little surprise to sense Gildarts approaching him. Even though he only looked up when the grizzly man called, he was hard to miss.</p><p>He finished paying for the produce, not missing how the merchant eyed Gildarts with distress as he hovered over his cabbages. Apparently, the citizens of Magnolia knew Gildarts well. “Afternoon.”</p><p>After their first encounter, Acnologia and Gildarts did speak again, mostly because both had been equally curious about the strength of the other. One December morning, they even began a spar to test the waters. Key word: <em>began</em>. It was quickly shaping up to be terraforming, so they had to cut it off, even if Acnologia hadn’t planned on going all out on the stranger from the beginning. It was still enough to prove that his magic—crush magic, which Acnologia hardly knew existed—was something to be reckoned with.</p><p>Gildarts was rough around the edges and occasionally obnoxious, but he was sincere, if not childish. Not the <em>worst</em> company.</p><p>“You’re looking for another dragon slayer kid, right?”</p><p>That piqued his interest. “I am.”</p><p>“I was in this town for a chi— job, I meant job—and I think I heard something about a kid starting rumors about dragons being real. It ain’t much, but I figured I’d tell ya’.”</p><p>“Anything helps,” he replied, honestly. “What town was it?”</p><p>“Freesia Town.”</p><p>A lead was a lead. Admittedly, some of these were ones Acnologia never would have found on his own. Now, he hoped they turned up the missing child.</p><p>“Thanks. I’ll go check it out.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>There were even scenes I took out of this, if you can believe that. But that's why I have the Drabbles/Extra/Side Stories installation, where cut scenes and things-I-thought-of-later go to be loved. Which is to say, 'Laxus Learns Acno is a Dragon' and 'Gildarts and Acnologia Level A Mountain' might just show up as extra scenes, later. Plus, there's another scene regarding Natsu that I am planning to write to give some continuity here... Heheh. I'll get to that. Maybe before this story ends. Maybe after. But it shall be done.</p><p>Also, this is the last of my drabbles-in-a-trench-coat-pretending-to-be-a-chapter chapters. I swear. There's also only one more chapter (unless I split it) then an epilogue. Whoo! Then we get to move on to more arcs!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The dragons slayers set off to bring Sting home.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whoo, with all them extra scenes I got distracted by, I definitely put this off, but it's here as promised! There is only one chapter after this, and then this arc is done. I'm amazed we're here already, heheh.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Ain’t nothing come easy</em>
  <br/>
  <em>No, nothing comes quick</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But I want for you this: that you are well</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I want for us this: that we are well.”</em>
</p><p>—The Oh Hello’s, “Theseus”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>January 28, X779</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The sound of his longsuffering huff was drowned out by the wind, but somehow, the yelled conversation of the children was not.</p><p>Like with the other leads, Acnologia had planned to go investigate as soon as possible. One of the kids usually tagged along, for two reasons: they would ensure that Sting was resolutely identified, and they would make asking around for a small child <em>infinitely </em>less suspicious. Although he would like to emphasize that usually only took <em>one</em>—not all of them.</p><p>Yet, all of them were on his back now, currently discussing the merits of cake versus pie. (It was currently a tie, but if Natsu and Gajeel won Rogue over, then pie would be victorious.) How the conversation was so <em>loud, </em>however, was beyond him.</p><p>Though maybe it was for the best that they were their usual rambunctious selves. It kept Acnologia from being tempted by tiredness, especially up in the frigid air. He would normally be asleep this time of year, but between ensuring the kids were getting fed, and looking for Sting, Acnologia resigned himself to naps instead. The cold made activity difficult, and he was not a fan. It didn’t seem to affect any of the kids, though they weren’t reptiles. It was no matter though. He could warm himself with magic; he would be fine.</p><p>He hoped Sting would turn up soon, though. Even if he was in a happy home, Acnologia simply needed to ensure that he was alive. Time and lack of knowledge made all of them antsy, though nobody wanted to say anything out loud.</p><p>“Hey Acno!”</p><p>If they were asking his opinion on the debate, they were about to be disappointed. “What?”</p><p>But Gajeel had insight, actually. “There’s a mage guild in Freesia! Might want to land further out!”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Freesia Town was small, but not tiny, looking to be about the size of Magnolia. It was an old town, around even over a hundred years ago, but it wasn’t in any exciting enough place to take off, population wise. The news about the guild was new to him, but granted, Acnologia only gave this place a glance on the map this time. Perhaps he should have done more research, but at least Gajeel was surprisingly resourceful.</p><p>He landed deep in the forest, making sure to avoid flying too close to the town. After he shifted back to a human form, Acnologia turned to Gajeel. “Anything else about this guild we should keep in mind?”</p><p>Gajeel just shrugged. “S’called Sabertooth. It’s really small, run by some geezer called, uh, Jonah, I think? Probably not any trouble from them, but there would be mages and shit around.”</p><p>Natsu snickered. “Levy tell you all that?”</p><p>“Levy is resourceful, unlike you, ash-brain.”</p><p><em>“Heeeey</em>—!”</p><p>“Anyway,” Acnologia cut in before they could start arguing, “let’s start moving.”</p><p>The forest was dense, but it only took an hour or so for the squad of dragon slayers to make it to the town, though Wendy and Rogue both ended up riding the shoulders of himself and Gajeel respectively. Nobody seemed to notice when they came in unconventionally, though halfway through the streets, their odd group makeup did earn a few glances.</p><p>“Alright, you know the drill,” Acnologia said.</p><p>With a variety of affirmations, the kids set to it: asking around. About any children, about any magic, where the orphanage was—whatever seemed to be relevant. It was the worst part, but the most necessary. Sometimes the search ended here, sometimes it ended with finding the orphanage and determining no child in town matched, and sometimes it ended after some wild goose chase.</p><p>“You looking for the orphanage?” a voice asked preemptively.</p><p>Acnologia turned to the speaker. It was an old man, likely in his sixties or seventies. The scent of magic wafted off him; it was nothing overly impressive, though refined. A brand of a cat rested on his forehead—part of Sabertooth, most likely.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Rogue, who happened to be with him, nodded. He could see the other kids moving closer to them in his peripheral, alert to the possibility of a lead.</p><p>The man smiled. “Are you looking to adopt another, or…”</p><p>“We’re looking for someone. One of their brothers.”</p><p>He raised a questioning brow. “Oh, are these children all related?”</p><p>“No,” Gajeel cut in. “But we were raised together.”</p><p>It was a usual song and dance, though truthfully, it was honest. The five dragon slayers were indeed raised in proximity, though it was easier to play up their closeness in order to ease people in allowing them to search for another child. People were generally protective of their young ones, which was good and warranted. People also assumed something tragic happened to the magic wielding children in order to be separated, which was also true but greatly exaggerated. Though if tugging on heart strings was what yielded results, then it would be done. For this reason, bringing Wendy or Rogue proved the most effective in most searches, though people usually believed either Wendy or Gajeel were truly related to him.</p><p>“I see,” the old man said. “I do hope you are able to find him. Here, allow me to accompany you to the town orphanage. It’s small and run out of the church, but after the earthquakes in the area, they have more occupants, unfortunately.”</p><p>It wasn’t ideal for a mage to be with them, but he would accept it for the man’s conscience, if that was the reasoning behind the extra step.</p><p>“I’m Josiah,” he introduced as they walked. “Guildmaster of Sabertooth.”</p><p>This surprised him. While a mage, he didn’t strike him to be on the same level as Makarov, though the age made sense. He supposed it was only natural that not all guilds were equal in power.</p><p>“Acnologia.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you. And these fine lads are your…”</p><p>“We’re together,” Natsu cut in. “We’re all guildmates.”</p><p>“We go way back,” Gajeel added. Ten months was not a long time, but nobody had to know the specifics. Besides, it felt like an entire era anyway.</p><p>“He’s our big brother,” Wendy said with full confidence.</p><p>Even though the age gap was wide (wider than anyone would ever know), Wendy had gotten into her head that he fulfilled the role as eldest brother, so she shared this as a fact. It was odd at first, but Acnologia had grown fond of the term, and strangely enough, so did the others. Maybe it was because—though he had the role of the adult of the house—it meant he never had to replace the dragons that had become their parents. That was fine by him. Whatever relationship they had, they were all content with it.</p><p>Josiah nodded, taking in all the responses with a slightly overwhelmed chuckle. The kids had that effect. “Sounds lovely,” he said, before they lapsed into silence.</p><p>The church wasn’t far. It was also very old, though it was evident there had been many renovations over the years, with the last renovations not recent due to the current state of wear. What caught his attention was the relief molding, which was likely kept since the beginning for artistic reasons; the style was indicative of temples to the gods, before they faded to blissful oblivion. There were crescent moons, scythes, and upside-down mountains, but Acnologia recognized none of it. Granted, he never worshipped any god as a human—the closest had been Polaris, the celestial Montes Secreta honored in her eternal slumber—and as a dragon he had come to know that there were truly no gods, only beings with too much power. They were all dead or close enough now, so there wasn’t a point wondering.</p><p>There was a building attached to the church, around the back of it, that was where the kids slept and were cared for. A woman met them at the door. “Master Josiah! To what do I owe the pleasure.” She spotted them next and gave a wrinkled smile. “Oh, visitors? Is there someone you are looking for?”</p><p>“They’re looking for a friend of these fine young lads,” Josiah answered for him. The man was likely trying to be helpful, but his continued presence was starting to grate on his nerves.</p><p>Acnologia replied to the woman himself. “These kids grew up together, but they were separated about a year and a half ago. His name is Sting, and he should be six or seven.”</p><p>“He’s a blond little squirt with brown eyes,” Gajeel described.</p><p>“Blue,” Rogue corrected.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”</p><p>Natsu nodded. “And he uses, uh… white magic! Yeah, that’s it.”</p><p>The woman’s eyes widened. “Sting? You all know him?”</p><p>The familiarity with the name was the affirmation that they all sought, but he found he hadn’t expected. He was caught off guard by the clearest sign of success he had been given yet. Still, Acnologia remained cautious. “Can we talk to him?”</p><p>“Of course, right this way.”</p><p>It was then that he realized a fundamental flaw in their plan: Sting would not remember any of the other children. They would be made to be liars nearly instantly. The place was nice enough, so if this truly was Sting, it wouldn’t be the worst scenario if he had to spend a little long here, but…</p><p>No, Acnologia had kidded himself. If Sting was with some loving family elsewhere, he could get over it and maybe the kids could too, but he wouldn’t leave him in an orphanage, loving or no. A year ago, he might have, but Acnologia would devote everything he had and everything he wasted all those centuries to ensuring the happiness of these children, because with the fate ahead of them, they deserved every ounce of it.</p><p>Bottom line, they needed a way to either immediately talk to Sting alone (not likely, he was a child and there were two concerned adults hovering) or come up with an alternate solution. As they walked, the kids following with varying levels of (visible) excitement and interest, he turned back and knocked against his head as discreetly as he could, cursing the fact that he never bothered to learn telepathy magic because it was irritating, and he never had any constant associates before a year ago.</p><p>Natsu blinked at him rapidly, confusion evident, and Rogue looked concerned for a moment. Gajeel had a blank look as well, but then it clicked and he grinned confidently. Wendy nodded from the beginning, hopefully from understanding.</p><p>The woman opened a door and peaked into the doorway. “Sting, dear? Someone is here to see you,” she called. Pulling back the door a bit, she turned to whisper to him. “I should warn you, he’s a little…imaginative,” she said quietly, but not quiet enough to be out of range of a dragon slayer, child or no. “And a little rowdy.”</p><p>“That’s fine. We would just like to speak with him in private a bit.”</p><p>“We’re worried he’s traumatized,” Gajeel said suddenly. Acnologia had to consciously restrain himself from not slapping his face at the sheer lack of subtlety. “We don’t want to crowd ‘im, ya know?”</p><p>“We’ve been through a lot,” Rogue added, voice flat.</p><p>“Yeah, lots,” echoed Natsu, with Wendy nodding solemnly.</p><p>The woman looked more worried now, and Acnologia would give them a smack upside the head if he could without being obvious or suspicious, so he settled for an exasperated look. Now he would have to roll with what they started, even though this was far too complicated a route. “They don’t like talking about it,” he told the woman lamely, painfully aware that Sting could be hearing every word of this.</p><p>“O-of course,” the woman responded. “Um, there’s a room just over there.” She pointed to a door in the middle of the hallway, that based on the airflow, was fully enclosed. No outside exit, so as to be safe for the kid. Made sense, but Acnologia realized now that flying off with Rogue and Gajeel had been so, <em>so </em>much easier.</p><p>This was fine, but he was desperately hoping Sting wouldn’t pass out. (His hopes weren’t high, unfortunately.)</p><p>A blond kid came through the door, a hard look on his face. “What do you want, Ms. Hannah?” he asked begrudgingly, though his eyes were wandering to the troupe of dragon slayers with some mixture of interest and irritation. It was likely he did, in fact, hear them. The scent of dragon slayer magic was unmistakably on him as well.</p><p>“Sting?” Rogue called first, excited and hopeful. A confirmation, then.</p><p>“Uh, yeah?” And Sting was definitely amnesiac. He hoped he didn’t say anything too incriminating off that bat.</p><p>“These fine people were looking for you. Do you mind talking to them for a bit?” the woman told him.</p><p>Sting looked back to them, his face twisting to pure confusion. “O…kay?”</p><p>Acnologia opened the door, and the kids filtered in. It was just a table with one chair on one side and a couple of chairs on the other. Everyone stood, including Sting, who came in with the air of someone who wanted to pretend to be disinterested, as he stood in the far corner and crossed his arms. How cute, he was trying to be intimidating.</p><p>“Who are you freaks, anyway?” Sting asked when the door was closed.</p><p>“Hey, we’re the same freak you are,” Gajeel shot back.</p><p>“Who’re you calling a freak, ugly?!”</p><p>Oh no, it was another aggressive one. Stars above, why <em>him? </em></p><p>Acnologia put an arm in front of Gajeel as he began to move forward. “Slow down, we haven’t explained ourselves yet.”</p><p>Gajeel backed down. “…Sorry.”</p><p>Before Natsu could then get offended that Gajeel didn’t fight Sting when he fought <em>him</em> (he could see the look in the young demon’s eyes), Acnologia addressed Sting. “You’re a dragon slayer, correct?”</p><p>“Of course I am. What, don’t believe me?”</p><p>Not this again. “We believe you. We’re dragon slayers too.”</p><p>Sting huffed. “<em>Sure</em> you are.”</p><p>When Gajeel started to get offended, Acnologia had to stop him too. “You were just as bad,” he hissed lowly. Gajeel stilled. That’s right, he better think about how stubborn he had been and suffer alongside Acnologia in this.</p><p>“Um, I know you don’t remember us,” Rogue started, “but we knew each other as kids. Or, um, our dragons knew each other?”</p><p>“You were raised by, uh…” Natsu took a second. “That white guy with the beard—Whitelogic—right?”</p><p>“Weisslogia!” Sting hissed. “Wait, you…know him?”</p><p>“In passing, yes.” Acnologia had seen the dragon maybe once, but there weren’t many White dragons, so he connected the memory. “And the five of you were all raised by dragons at the same time, though magic interfered with your memories. You have forgotten a few things, just like they did. We’re going to help you remember, okay?”</p><p>“I remember everything just fine!” Sting insisted, suddenly vehement. Acnologia didn’t miss the way his voice cracked. This wasn’t the same as Natsu—he was remembering something unpleasant. “I’m a real dragon slayer, and I don’t need to be babied! I’ve slayed dragons before!”</p><p>Not only did the conversation go from not ideal to what the <em>hell</em>, Acnologia couldn’t stop himself from laughing once the absurdity of the statement settled in. This child? Killing a dragon? His amusement eased the tenseness that settled into his kids.</p><p>“You think I’m lying?! I killed a dragon with my own two hands!” Shit, was he beginning to cry? “Weisslogia said it was my final test and I <em>passed </em>and—”</p><p>“Slow down, slow down.” Maybe the woman was right, and he <em>was </em>delusional. “I just told you, your memory is jumbled. If you just let us help you—”</p><p>“I’m <em>not lying! </em>If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you!”</p><p>Sting’s fist glowed with white magic and he entered a decent attempt at a fighting stance.</p><p>“I’m not fighting a child.”</p><p>“Hey! You fought me!”</p><p>“Gajeel, you needed a punch in the face and you know it. Besides, you were thirteen.”</p><p>“…yeah, fine.”</p><p>Sting, despite being only a little bigger than Rogue, was fully prepared to launch himself at Acnologia to prove a poorly made point. When he reared his fist back, Acnologia sucked the magic right off it.</p><p><em>That </em>shut him up.</p><p>“What…did you do…?”</p><p>“There. I won the fight. Now will you listen to us?”</p><p>Sting stared with wide eyes.</p><p>“Stop me when this sounds familiar. You were raised by Weisslogia, but sometimes he would take you to meet with other dragons and their kids: Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, and Rogue. One day, he took you to a big gate in the woods.”</p><p>“What, that’s—” It hit him suddenly, and Sting staggered backwards. Acnologia was there to catch him before he fell.</p><p>Shit, so he <em>did </em>pass out. This would be very aggravating to explain.</p><p>“Does this mean I win?” Gajeel said.</p><p>“…What?”</p><p>“I’m the only one who didn’t pass out!”</p><p>Natsu pouted. “Shut up.”</p><p>Acnologia <em>really </em>wanted that hibernation about now. “Yeah, fine, whatever floats your boat. Wendy?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Could you go tell that lady Sting passed out, and that I need to watch him?”</p><p>“Sure!”</p><p>Wendy opened the door. “Sting passed out but it’s okay because Ac-nii knows healing magic!”</p><p>Her bluntness did little to assuage the immediate worry the woman held. She rushed forward. “Oh my, what happened?”</p><p>“Trauma,” Gajeel said.</p><p>Acnologia had half a mind to make him take the train home.</p><p>“His memories were jumbled. He only partially recognized some of the kids, and the longer we talked, the more it got to him. Has he exhibited any signs of blunt force trauma or memory loss when he first came here?” This played into the ‘no time magic here’ charade, but Acnologia was genuinely curious. None of the kids had the ability to self-reflect, the passage through the gate still a fuzzy spot, and he hadn’t known to ask the ghost. For privacy’s sake, he wasn’t going to ask around Fairy Tail either—it wasn’t that important anyway.</p><p>“Uh… W-well yes, actually. Poor dear was found in the woods, and he’s been spouting about dragons ever since. It was especially bad in the beginning. Is—is something wrong with him?”</p><p>Unfortunately, that guildmaster was still there, and he seemed very interested in the answer as well. Most likely because magic was getting thrown around now.</p><p>Joke was on him, though, because nobody was lying about Acnologia’s knowledge of medicine. Being the caretaker of children and part of a guild of disaster-prone mages made him refresh his knowledge, too. “It’s common to temporarily lose memories associated with a traumatic event, especially at a young age.” There was no trauma (at the event of losing memory), only awful Zeref-made magic, but they didn’t need to know that. “The fact that they got separated didn’t help, but the recognition is stirring it up. Unfortunately, the strain at this age caused a lapse in consciousness.”</p><p>The woman nodded solemnly. “Does he need anything? Any healing magic?”</p><p>“No, there’s no need for that. Just a flat place to lie down and some time.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>They laid him on the table, and the woman—Hannah—brough a towel to cushion his head. Acnologia was at a partial loss, because it was hard to ascertain how long it would take. Wendy had been younger, Rogue had been sick, and Natsu had to relive death and rebirth—provided Sting wasn’t <em>actually </em>traumatized, he might be the quickest.</p><p>By the blessing of Polaris, he was. It had only been a terse thirty minutes of waiting and awful small talk, before Sting stirred. “…Dad?” he whispered as he came to, barely audible. If he wasn’t crying before, he was crying now.</p><p>“Sorry kid, I don’t know where he is.”</p><p>Sting pulled himself up with a half sob and half laugh. “I didn’t kill him.”</p><p>Hannah startled. “I’m sorry dear, what did you say?”</p><p>Sting was only euphorically hysteric. “I didn’t kill my dad!”</p><p>The poor woman looked to Acnologia like Sting was still broken. This, he is suspected, was some side effect of the gate, warping his memory or his understanding into thinking he killed Weisslogia, which was ridiculous for multiple reasons. The relief in the kid’s features was palpable, so Acnologia was glad for him. He didn’t need any more trauma than what was already there.</p><p>“How’s your head, kid?”</p><p>He finally turned his attention to them, though he stopped short of Acnologia. “Rogue?!”</p><p>Rogue’s smile was bright. “Hey Sting!”</p><p>“Rogue!” Suddenly, the blond was tackling the black-haired boy in a hug. “Oh my gods it’s really you! Wait, Wendy? Gajeel? Natsu?! You’re all here?!”</p><p>“You know it, squirt,” Gajeel confirmed.</p><p>Sting looked like his mind was about to implode. “Why?”</p><p>“To make sure you’re okay and to take you home!” Natsu replied. “Uh, if you wanna, of course.”</p><p>“Home?”</p><p>“To Magnolia,” Acnologia clarified. Unfortunately, the subject of the home with their dragons was next on the agenda, but that was to be done in private. “We’re all living there.”</p><p>He looked to Acnologia. “Who’re you, anyway?”</p><p>“Sting,” Hannah moaned. “You didn’t let him introduce himself? We talked about this…”</p><p>“It’s okay,” he cut in. “I didn’t get to it in the midst of everything. I’m Acnologia. I knew your parents before—that’s how I met the others.” There was a chorus of nods behind him. “I’m just here to help.”</p><p>“So, uh… Am I staying with you guys now?” He looked between Rogue, Natsu, and Hannah.</p><p>The latter gave an encouraging nod. “If you want to go with them, dear.”</p><p>“It’s up to you,” Acnologia added, somewhat begrudgingly, but he still wasn’t going to force any of them.</p><p>“Yeah, of course!”</p><p>Well, that was easy. Granted, the kids were now the only people he knew outside this town, and evidently, they were a clear winner.</p><p>“Then let’s go home.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A few weeks later…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sting had settled into the house, and soon after, into Fairy Tail. He didn’t want to be left out, and with his pugnacious attitude, he was beginning to fit in quite well. Acnologia was glad for him, but he was distracted by the next step—the time to rip the arrow out was rapidly approaching, as much as Acnologia wanted to keep putting it off. He promised them, and the longer he waited, the messier it would be.</p><p>It didn’t make it easier though.</p><p>“Uh, what did you want to tell us?”</p><p>All six of them were gathered in the living room, eyeing him with interest. The trust in their faces made his heart ache. “I told you I would tell you my story when all of you were gathered,” he reminded Natsu. “I only want to go through it once.”</p><p>“We don’t have to know if it makes you uncomfortable,” Laxus assured, though he knew the levels of curiosity were variant across the group. He appreciated the concern, however.</p><p>“No, you need to know. I’m going to tell you about the origin of dragon slayers, and why dragons and dragon slayers are…nearly gone from this world.”</p><p>“I thought you were going to tell us about you?” Natsu asked.</p><p>His heart was heavy with shame, and as much as he feared it, he would accept whatever they thought of him by the end of it. They deserved to know. Somehow, he managed to maintain eye contact.</p><p>“I am.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry not sorry for ending it on a depressing note, but.... it was going to happen eventually, heheh....</p><p>But they're finally all together! Yay!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Epilogue: Guardian of the Fairies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Acnologia never thought he was capable of change. He was glad that he was wrong.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's done! And posted a week and a day early in celebration. (I can't believe how fast I wrote this, but maybe that's the magic of being out of school.)</p><p>Thank you so much to everyone who commented and supported and even just read it. It has meant a lot to me, and I enjoy hearing your thoughts. Funnily enough, I think most people expected a different direction with this chapter, and I hope I don't disappoint you, 'cause this was actually my plan all along, heheh. More thoughts on that at the end. </p><p>Enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“You could change the world, I know<br/>‘Cause you've surely changed mine<br/>And that’s why<br/>You are my fairy…”</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>December 1, X779</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Despite the rising winter, the air underneath his wings was warm. It was in part due to the rising sun, turning the clouds of the high sky orange, and to the location. He had never liked flying across the ocean before, but this time, it was peaceful. He was content.</p><p>It was so strange to think about how things progressed. Acnologia had spent hundreds of years in rage, and the next couple of hundred in silent solitude; there had been moments in between, perhaps, but none so life changing as the moment he took in those kids. Though in all honesty, they took <em>him </em>in as much as he did them.</p><p>Family, he discovered, was built on mutuality—and that was what defined it more than blood ever could. Family was the crux of many things; some he now knew firsthand and some he was beginning to understand.</p><p>Acnologia had learned much. He experienced concepts he either thought didn’t exist or that he was too jaded and too far gone to partake in. Maybe this was the advantage of humanity: they had a knack for moving past the unmovable, because there was simply no time to dwell. Or maybe they were just foolish, but damn, he was a fool because he yearned for this more than he thought possible.</p><p>Acnologia had fully expected, that cold, foggy, February morning, to be forced to let them go—to lose them forever. He had done the irredeemable. Unforgivable. Nobody knew that better than he. Rejecting him was only natural, the best way to ensure sanctity. It had been surprising when they didn’t. They were supposed to be smart—to be <em>better than him</em>—but even amid the confusion and the hot tears, nobody let him leave.</p><p>
  <em>“Don’t you get it? I’m a monster!”</em>
</p><p>He was starting to get the impression that nothing was truly unforgivable if bonds made people willing to forgive.</p><p>
  <em>“But…we love you.”</em>
</p><p>Acnologia had—expected? hoped? believed?—that the older ones would pull the young ones back away from him and deal with this responsibly. Of the three, Sting had been the only one rightly perturbed, but perhaps that was his fault for laying this on them so young. It had been equally relieving and heartbreaking when Gajeel punched him in the face—only for the teen to grab him, tears in his eyes, and scream. <em>“Damn you! You told me <strong>I </strong>could get better, so was that a lie or are you that fucking dense?!”</em></p><p>It was a grave overlook on his part, or perhaps merely a product of how fucking dense he indeed was. He knew humans could change, but he had not believed the same thing for himself. That, more so than any grievous and depraved thing he had ever done, had been the highest point of contention. Writing himself off as unsavable but telling a group of kids from a mix of terrible backgrounds, who may or may not be destined to become dragons, or who were already inhuman, that they could be better while he could not, was counterintuitive. Children learned by example, and he was a poor one.</p><p>Maybe he stayed because there was a new thing to mend. Maybe he had still been selfish. But maybe, he was just learning—learning to be better. Learning how to be a family.</p><p>Now, in the skies far over Hargeon’s bay and the ocean past it, Acnologia flew, Gajeel nearly asleep on his back even after insisting that he wouldn’t fall asleep despite the early departure. It was okay even if he did sleep, however, because Acnologia could ensure he wouldn’t fall off with a well-placed air barrier around the teen.</p><p>“…We there yet?” asked Gajeel, not opening his eyes. If he had, he would have known the answer.</p><p>“No, but we’re close.” Acnologia could smell the scent of land on the winds. For all the magic that purportedly hid this island, it was not hidden from the birds nor the creatures of the air. Or, simply, the crest he bore on his underside negated the effects. Now, the fairy crest pulsed warmly, signaling the arrival of their destination: Tenrou Island.</p><p>The S-Class trial had begun.</p><p>Truthfully, he nearly slept through the selection ceremony again. Not on purpose, because he knew of the guild events well by this point, but damn had the cold front come soon, and his nest at the cabin was comfortable, even to his human form. It had been a combined effort of the kids to wake him up at all.</p><p>He suspected that he might be a candidate by the knowing smiles Gildarts kept giving him weeks prior, but Acnologia had still been surprised. S-Class—at least in Fairy Tail—was not just a mark of strength, but rather of dignity and honor. Acnologia and Master Makarov had only recently begun to touch on the issues that inevitably lay between them, and even then, Acnologia had not expected to ever earn his undying trust. This was a gesture he didn’t anticipate, regardless of the fact that he knew he could punt most S-Class mages with his little toe (no offense to Laxus, though he <em>was </em>learning); however, he would not take this olive branch lightly.</p><p>Acnologia was, despite all odds and all histories, a Fairy Tail mage. Or perhaps, that was exactly what made a Fairy Tail mage in the first place.</p><p>He had no intentions of losing this trial.</p><p>Acnologia almost felt bad for the other competitors, though he suspected that a few—while showing potential—were not ready yet anyway. Cana was only Natsu’s age, although her aptitude with magic was impressive (like her father, though Cana had his word to keep it secret.) Erza, too, was a growing warrior, though only fourteen. He had never seen an equip mage with as much prowess as she before. Mest was disturbingly adept with mind magic, though he was a good-natured guy, so Acnologia left him be; it would be interesting to see how he faired in this trial, because occasionally, he really was an idiot. Mirajane…he still didn’t like.</p><p>The trial is different every year, as he is told. This year’s trial is what Makarov called a ‘test of resourcefulness and ingenuity.’ They were started at some random place in the mountains and told to find their way to the sacred island of the guild, Tenrou, and then survive there unaided for thirty-six hours. They had the limit of a week to accomplish this task, and the first to make it to the end of the three days would be the victor. The only stipulations given were that they could not allow any outsider near the island, and that their partner had to also survive unscathed, but without using their magic.</p><p>Acnologia strongly surmised that Makarov had somehow rigged the mountains and perhaps the paths along the way with obstacles; he was sure the island was set up with various dangers as well. He had no idea how the other candidates faired, however, because as soon as the timer set, he split off from the group and took the skies. After only half a day (which is to say, a night) of flying and searching, the island that Acnologia either ignored or never discovered came into view.</p><p>While the others were likely forced to camp in the mountains, they had already arrived.</p><p>“Wow,” Gajeel said, looking around with awe. “That’s a huge ass tree.”</p><p>Gajeel had won the honor of being his partner for the trials. Acnologia had been wary to choose between any of the kids, and Laxus was off the table because he was already S-Class, so he left it to the two oldest to determine who wanted to come with him.</p><p>Turned out, steel magic reinforcement could triumph over the strength of a fully formed demon claw in an arm-wrestling match.</p><p>“It’s definitely magic,” Acnologia observed. “Very strong, too. I have to guess the warding magic is only part of what it does.” Not even he could ascertain the make-up of the majority of it. It was ancient and simultaneously brimming with vigor and new life. There was even land atop it. He was tempted to go up there, but there was a better source of fresh water below, at the source of the waterfalls.</p><p>He circled once to figure out his entry and then landed. Gajeel slid off and moved to the side as Acnologia shifted back to human form. “We should camp here,” he said, surveying the land. “I can set up a wind barrier, but we can make a lean-to for better privacy and camouflage.”</p><p>Gajeel peered over the edge of the cliff he selected. It was a small craig, just large enough to fit him as a dragon, that overlooked the lake that the waterfalls came from. “Wouldn’t it be better to be closer to the water?”</p><p>“Not necessarily. The ground isn’t as suitable for camping, and here is a better vantage point for danger. See? An overlook there, and the safety of the rockface behind us.”</p><p>“Oh, I get it. So we just gotta jump down for water and food and shit?”</p><p>“Yes to all three.”</p><p>“Wait that’s not what—”</p><p>Acnologia laughed. “Calm down, I’m kidding. Partially. Don’t do your business near camp, unless you think scent-marking is necessary.”</p><p>“It’s really not ya’ crazy lizard.”</p><p>“You laugh, but there are no snakes around our house for a reason.”</p><p>“Okaaaay, moving on. You said, uh, you wanted a lean-to, right? I got—” Gajeel raised his fist only to frown. “No magic, never mind.”</p><p>“Sorry champ, we need wood and leaves for this one.”</p><p>Gajeel scowled at the band on his wrist. It was a simple sealstone compressor, only to stop unconscious use of magic. It was easily removable, in case of trouble, but it would alert Makarov and end their trial. “Damn, if I knew I was just going to be dead weight, I would have let Natsu win.”</p><p>“You’re not dead weight,” he assured. “You can still carry leaves and fish, can’t you?”</p><p>Gajeel’s scowl turned to him, much to his amusement.</p><p>“But in all serious, your senses are still intact and vital to looking out for trouble. Vigilance is always better in—”</p><p>“Tandem, I know, I know. Hey, why are my senses still working even with this thing shoving my magic in a box? I thought it was part of dragon slayer magic.”</p><p>“Magic transformed your body, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s still active. The body is changed. Even if someone blocked my magic, I would still be a dragon.”</p><p>“Even if it happened in yer’ human form?”</p><p>Huh. He never thought about that one before. It wasn’t merely transformation magic that let him take this form—it was real, to an extent. More like a memory in tandem with reality. “I’m not sure on that one.”</p><p>Gajeel just shrugged. “Well, anyway, I’mma’ go get them leaves and the mud and stuff. But after this, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”</p><p>“Let me know if you see anything good in the woods, otherwise it’s just going to be fish.”</p><p>“Scratch Natsu—Happy would have been <em>thrilled</em> to be here.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>There were wild animals on the island, but that stars-damned giant owl was definitely something Makarov thought of to make them miserable. Acnologia didn’t even feel bad killing it. It’s screech alone was deafening, it was fast, and it <em>vomited on their camp. </em></p><p>“I’m going to make a cloak with its feathers and wear it to kill its brethren.”</p><p>Gajeel wouldn’t stop laughing. “Your hair looks like a rejected rat’s nest.”</p><p>“I <em>know</em>. I’ll have you know it smells a <em>lot </em>worse.”</p><p>“Sucks to be you.”</p><p>“Oh, then allow me show you.”</p><p>“W-wait—!”</p><p>Gajeel moved a lot faster than he expected, especially without magic, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the playful headlock. What was most impressive was probably how the otherwise not agile dragon slayer managed to summersault backwards afterwards. “<em>Eugh</em>, fine, you win,” Gajeel gagged. “Go bathe or something.”</p><p>“Trust me, I will. Stay in the camp, but holler if anyone else comes.”</p><p>“Else repeat that hell? Trust me, you’ll be hearing from me.”</p><p>The camp was guarded by an air barrier. It was permeable, as to allow air and scents in without hindrance, so it was no force field, but it served as adequate shelter from the elements and it was a good warning system. He wasn’t going far, Gajeel still being within Acnologia’s range of senses. It would be fine. He should probably grab food while he was at it, anyway, the evening of their first day already approaching.</p><p>He dipped into the lake and bathed quickly. It wasn’t perfect, but he at least needed to clear the air around himself in order to properly smell incoming threats or prey. Impairing his nose felt as bad as being blinded—possibly worse.</p><p>It finally cleared as he broke the surface of the lake—only for another, more sinister scent to waft towards him like a slap to the face. It was distant, but once he caught onto it, he couldn’t see anything else. Hackles rising involuntarily, Acnologia forced himself to calm down before he did anything rash.</p><p>He returned back to the camp. Nothing was amiss there, but he wanted to be sure. “I’m…going to go check something out,” he told Gajeel.</p><p>His tone alerted the almost-fifteen-year-old instantly. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Hopefully nothing, but I want to be sure.” The scent was unmistakable, but he knew he was also prone to being paranoid. “Stay put, but if <em>anything </em>happens, especially even the slightest whiff of death magic, don’t hesitate to end the trial. Your safety comes first.”</p><p>“R-right.” Gajeel watched him warily. “The hell is scaring you so bad?”</p><p>Shit, he was starting to make Gajeel nervous too, and that wasn’t his intention. Acnologia was wary to tell him, unsure of whether it would help or make it worse. He didn’t want to lie to family, but it was a delicate matter. “I’ll tell you after I check it out. I should hurry.”</p><p>“Alright…”</p><p>Acnologia left swiftly. He had to move fast, lest he ruin the slim element of surprise he had. Unfortunately, it was quickly becoming apparent that his first hunch was correct; it had likely been a combination of his smell being temporarily incapacitated, and the tree’s power obscuring their magic from one another. It was time to nip this problem at the bud.</p><p>He appeared in front of him, startling the black-clad figure from his rested position. “Zeref.”</p><p><em>“Acnologia,” </em>the Black Mage returned with a mix of fear and ice.</p><p>Acnologia had not physically seen Zeref for a few centuries. Their last encounter had been in some mountains—he believed around the time before he traveled with the Svits—and it had not been an amicable encounter, each attacking the other on sight for the threats they posed alone. He had dealt with plenty of the Black Mage’s magic since then, however, and Acnologia’s poor opinion of him had not changed until meeting Natsu, although it was hard to say whether it got better or worse. On one hand, knowing he was cursed made many of his actions make sense, but knowing he turned his brother into a demon only to leave him in the dark about its consequences did not impress him.</p><p>Still, it was for Natsu’s sake he didn’t punt Zeref into the ocean like he wanted to. It was also for his own. Acnologia knew that change was always possible, and that weird stint he pulled invading Fiore a few years ago aside, Zeref <em>had </em>been quiet. He told the kids that he would give himself forgiveness, so he couldn’t immediately deny Zeref the same thing—though he was on fucking thin ice, especially considering where they were.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Acnologia asked, though it was half-growled despite his best effort.</p><p>“I could ask you the same thing.”</p><p>“Don’t dodge the question, Zeref. This is Fairy Tail’s holy ground, not a vacation spot.”</p><p>Zeref still had that infuriating trait where he was simultaneously emotionless and full of expression, though everything was guesswork. The Curse of Contradiction finally put a name to it, and a reason behind it, but it was still being aggravating in the way it defied basic living principle, something which animals thrived from. He didn’t know if Zeref was serious, mocking, or something else entirely when he looked at him with blank eyes and said, “I know. That’s why I asked you.”</p><p>It was amazing that neither attacked the other yet. As tempting as it was, Acnologia already told himself he wouldn’t make the first move, so he would be patient. He lifted his arm slightly. “I <em>am </em>a Fairy Tail mage.”</p><p><em>That </em>elicited a response from Zeref, though it was still hard to read. His eyes flared briefly yet he gasped in horror at the same time. It was at this moment that Acnologia slowed down enough to realize one of the things that unnerved him the most about Zeref: his emotions had no scent. They were impossible to tell. He could smell his person and his magic, but nothing beyond that.</p><p>“What game are you playing at, Acnologia?” This time, it didn’t take much guesswork to pick up on the suspicion. “If you’ve hurt them—”</p><p>“What? No.” Was Zeref caring about people now? Or was this some terrible display of irony? “There’s people I care about in that guild.” And though he followed the kids in, he had grown to care for the guild as a whole, even if it was full of idiots and some people he disliked. None of that meant he wished them harm, however. It was an odd relationship, but that’s how most relationships were.</p><p>“Impossible.”</p><p>Acnologia bristled. In the face of this, he understood why his blanket statements about himself had upset the kids so bad those months ago. It was insulting and disheartening, and he knew now that if anyone had said that to his kids, he might have considered killing them on the spot.</p><p>But he had been Zeref, once. It would be hypocritical of him to not understand. “People change—human, dragon, demon. Anything is possible.”</p><p>“Not for monsters like you and me. You know that.” He sounded derisive, but it could have been sadness. Perhaps both.</p><p>“Then judge for yourself.” He wouldn’t argue with him on a basis of morality, but he was already wary of his influence on Natsu in such a state. “But you haven’t answered my question.”</p><p>Zeref stared for a long moment. “I came to visit a friend’s grave. The first master of Fairy Tail.”</p><p>So, either he <em>was </em>capable of relationships, or he was a terrible liar. His heart did not betray him, but Acnologia doubted anything was a good indicator when it came to the man. “Fine. But I suggest you leave, because more people will be coming here. Either you leave peacefully, or I <em>will </em>remove you.”</p><p>He had no idea what gave him away, but the next moment, Zeref correctly accused (stated?), “You know about the Curse of Contradiction.”</p><p>No use denying it. It changed nothing; if anything, it worked to Zeref’s favor. “I do.”</p><p>“How?” He wasn’t sure if it was fear or curiosity that propelled the question.</p><p>Acnologia narrowed his eyes and contemplated. Somehow, he doubted Zeref was completely oblivious, yet still the information seemed sensitive. Brother or no, he would protect Natsu and any of the children from Zeref if it came to it. Their existence was not hidden, however.</p><p>“Your brother is more observant than you may think.” As completely <em>arbitrary </em>as that observation may be.</p><p>Zeref, for all his passivity, was on him in an instant, his eyes crimson. “What have you done to Natsu?”</p><p>Despite the bringer of death at his throat, Acnologia made himself remain still. “Fed him. Helped put a roof over his head. Taught him what demon biology is even like.”</p><p>Zeref said nothing. Perhaps Acnologia had been overly vindictive, but he wouldn’t take any of it back because it was true.</p><p>“All the children you had a hand in sending to this era are all in Fairy Tail. They’re safe, if you cared about that.”</p><p>Zeref’s silence continued and he didn’t move, though his eyes were fading back to black and his muscles began to twitch.</p><p>Finally, he took a step back, his face void and his voice empty. “I see. If they’re all with you, then I suppose the operation was a failure.”</p><p>The words were off handed, yet they confirmed what he had feared and suspected all along: this was because of him. They had been removed from their dragon parent and sent to another era not just to escape him, but possibly to be the ones to kill him. Ironically enough, they did an excellent job at quelling the beast inside him, nonetheless.</p><p>It came as no surprise to him, so Acnologia wouldn’t dwell on it. Zeref’s thoughts on the matter were annoying, but insignificant. There was one thing he could provide, however. “Humor me once more, will you? Did you know they were doomed to turn to dragons, or did you not care about that?”</p><p>Even if the others were all inconsequential, he offered his little brother to Igneel for this. It had been a choice, and he doubted either Zeref or Igneel were oblivious to the consequences.</p><p>“I knew. But they won’t turn into dragons.”</p><p>That caught him off guard. There had been no change in tone and nothing to suggest a lie, but Acnologia could hardly trust it. “What?” he asked rather dumbly. “How do you know?”</p><p>“The dragon seed grows when it is fed power. It steadily grows in time as well, but like with any seed, it can die. We planned to stop its growth from the beginning.”</p><p>If what Zeref said was true, then one of Acnologia’s biggest fears was removed. For the most part. “How do you quell the seed?” He vaguely knew of its existence, but it was more of a flow of power in practice, and hard to distinguish. Their magic was obviously unaffected.</p><p>“Once the seed has blossomed, it cannot be undone.”</p><p>“The question wasn’t for me. I don’t care about that.” Laxus had not been one of the original five, but Acnologia still took responsibility for him. Someone had to.</p><p>Zeref seemed to observe him for a long moment. “The <em>dragon soul technique</em>. It is a spell only pure dragons can perform, however.”</p><p>He had never heard of the spell before, even after living among dragons. It was likely something esoteric, or merely intrinsic of the species. It was true; he was not a pure dragon. While he <em>was </em>a dragon, in body and in mind, his human traces did not fully leave. It was why he was able to maintain this form at all, though his senses defaulted to those of a dragon more often than to human.</p><p>It was disheartening to receive a solution only to find it unusable, but he would not be discouraged yet. To know that a solution was possible at all was more than he had before.</p><p>“I will leave,” Zeref said finally. “I have no wish to intrude upon Fairy Tail’s trials. But answer a question of mine—what purpose do you seek in this world?”</p><p>The hell? Acnologia had on-topic questions for this whack-job, and he wanted to know some philosophical bullshit? Unless… This was just his way of ensuring that Acnologia no longer sought draconic genocide.</p><p>But what was his answer, then? Life had been simpler when he was full of rage and one-track minded. Acnologia lost his goal long ago. He might have convinced himself his new one was to solve the mystery of the dragon war, but that was a half-hearted promise at best. He had simply been too much of a coward to die. Now, there was the matter of the kids. Acnologia was intent on saving them from his fate, on guiding them on the path of being a dragon slayer, but it wasn’t the same all-encompassing drive he had when all he wanted was destruction. Should the kids be cured today, and learn all there was to magic, he still wouldn’t leave them, and he doubted they would want him to.</p><p>Acnologia felt a small smile rise as he gained confidence in his answer:</p><p>“To protect my family.”</p><p>Zeref’s eyes betrayed nothing, but he lingered briefly before finally turning away. “Very well, then.”</p><p>He teleported in a flash, and slowly, his presence faded from the island. It should have concerned him that Zeref had the ability and range to teleport from a secluded island to the mainland, but Acnologia was merely grateful he was gone without trouble.</p><p>Acnologia returned to the camp, also glad that no other event happened in his absence.</p><p>“Was it a false alarm?” Gajeel asked. There had been no battle, so he understood why the assumption was made.</p><p>“No, I was right.” Acnologia watched the sun dip and regretted not picking up a rabbit on the way back. He had been distracted. “Zeref was on the island.”</p><p>Gajeel blinked. “Eh? You mean, Natsu’s brother? Who may or may not be a psychopath at any given moment?”</p><p>“That’s him. It was a peaceful encounter at least, though bizarre. It’s hard to ever be sure with him. He’s gone now, though.”</p><p>They started a fire and sat down. Acnologia had shot down a passing bird so as to not have to leave the camp again.</p><p>“Ya know,” Gajeel started. “Natsu went on a job because he was trying to find him—Zeref, I mean. He apparently told Macao he was looking for Igneel, but I know that ain’t true cuz’ he went to Akane and a fire dragon would never be in a place that wet.”</p><p>He sighed. “Of course he did.”</p><p>Natsu rarely said so directly, but it was common knowledge among the household that he sniffed out anything Zeref related he could find. Luckily, Acnologia was (mostly) successful in drilling into him caution regarding anything cult related, but that didn’t change the fact Natsu intrinsically knew his brother was still alive and out there, and that he wanted to find him.</p><p>“You’re not telling him about this, are you?”</p><p>Acnologia hummed. “Probably not. Zeref had not sought out Natsu, though I know he knows you all were in this era. I still don’t trust his intentions, even though I doubt he’ll harm Natsu purposefully.” It went unspoken that the greatest harm—both of them knew—that Zeref could do, and has done, to Natsu was simply to neglect him.</p><p>“Ah.”</p><p>They both ate in peaceable silence. A new presence made itself known on the island, in a somber note of light and energy. It was then that he realized, with modest humor, that he and Gajeel had beaten Makarov to the island, even when the master would have undoubtedly had the luxury of a direct route. But flying was still faster than hiking and sailing by a long shot.</p><p>“You think gramps will believe us if we told him we got here this morning?” Gajeel chuckled when Acnologia made mention of his arrival.</p><p>“He’s probably tracking us by your bracelet there.” He grinned. “But it’s a shame we missed his reaction.”</p><p>“Man, that would have been priceless, <em>gihi</em>!”</p><p>Acnologia had already determined that when the trial ended, he would inform the guildmaster of his species. It was never strictly necessary, but that much of a gesture Makarov had earned. It would also make things easier on him when it came to questions of his strange travel and sleeping habits.</p><p>Speaking of dragons… That was another matter entirely, and Acnologia needed research before he made concrete claims, but Gajeel was easy-going when it came to speculation. “Zeref said something about your dragon seeds—the thing responsible for turning a slayer into a dragon.”</p><p>Gajeel stopped mid bite to look at him before continuing.</p><p>“He said the matter was already dealt with by some magic called the <em>dragon soul technique</em>. I’ve never heard of it, and it’s possible it’s a magic I can’t achieve. When we get back, I’ll look into it.”</p><p>“Sounds fancy,” Gajeel shrugged, though there was interest in his posture. “Think Zeref has a reason to lie?”</p><p>“I don’t think so, but I still want to confirm things for myself.”</p><p>“If ya need any, like, library help, lemme know.”</p><p>“I’ll be sure ask Levy then.”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>He laughed and ruffled Gajeel’s hair, still baffled by how long he was growing it. Then again, Minstrel hair was thick and an absolute beast to mess with, especially when it had the freedom to fray in humidity, so he didn’t blame him.</p><p>“Yeah yeah, whatever old man. I’m going to bed.”</p><p>“Alright.” They both knew a second night awake was nothing to Acnologia, especially since he had slept for a few weeks prior. It was warm on the island, too.</p><p>“Oh, and Acno?”</p><p>He looked up.</p><p>Gajeel grinned. “I’m glad I get to help make ya’ S-Class.”</p><p>—o0o—</p><p>There were a few more monster attacks and one random but grueling storm, but the rest of the trial went by without hitch. Acnologia did indeed make it to S-Class, nearly unrivaled. The only other one to make it to the island had been Erza, and she only arrived the night before Acnologia’s time would end.</p><p>It was an honor he would bear proudly. Though even before titles were thrown around, he had come to realize that he would fight for Fairy Tail regardless. It was the guild the kids loved, that took them in, and they took him in as well. Stretched apart and chaotic though they were, it was just another type of family.</p><p>Centuries ago, Acnologia declared himself King of the Dragons. It was done in his wrath, though he had come to accept what it truly meant. Now came a softer and more sincere promise, one he gave to himself at the behest of others, that he would be a Guardian of the Fairies.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>“…It’s snowing<br/>Snow fairy<br/>Here my hands are holding gently<br/>Carrying all the light you gave me.”</em>
</p><p>—Funkist, “Snow Fairy” (translation by Amanda Lee)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And now, the end, and I am a sucker for poetry so yes, quote of the last chapter is Snow Fairy because it fits. </p><p>Now it's time for parting notes with Pencil (which is to say, 'until next time' notes.)</p><p>1.) Yes, there shall be a sequel. This is going to be a hefty series, because as of now, I have... about ten more arcs planned that I definitely want to do, and two maybes. The next story shall be titled <b>"The Eighth Tower"</b> and it will take place in the year X780. I will start posting it when I get a starter-buffer for it, but I will be posting extra scenes before then.</p><p>2.) I have several extra scenes planned/in the works that I will post before The Eighth Tower. Some are just fluff or extra to this arc, some are actually important in building up the next one. I am trying to be a good Adult for the new year, but I will try to post at least one a week before the new arc, which will probably be an every-other-week posting like this fic was. Unless I'm scary productive, then maybe it'll be weekly too. </p><p>3.) I actually tried to write The Talk as an extra scene, but it wasn't flowing right, even from the kids' povs. It might take finagling. As much drama as that could be, I never intended to write it lest I rehash events everyone knows and ultimately bore people with the fact that one can try to chisel-scrape a Fairy Tail mage away, but once they have determined you Family, they're impossible to shake. Not to say there isn't hurt, although it's more along the "why do you hate yourself" line than it is "oh you did bad things" bit. (If he had succeeded in killing any of their dragons, maybe that would be different, but he didn't.) I'm messing around with that still, so maybe it will come, maybe it won't. Maybe I'll give up and post an essay about it instead. Would anyone read my essays? Who knooooowwwsss. </p><p>Again, thank you all so much for the support. I'm always glad to write for myself, but it brings me joy to bring enjoyment to other people too. Happy new year!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>